Beyond Good and Evil
by Three Faint Calls
Summary: Loki would never voluntarily befriend a mortal, but when Odin bestows upon him an unexpected punishment, he is forced to ask a certain girl for forgiveness. And despite everything, she begins to find the God of Mischief rather charming. Loki/OC.
1. Chapter One

**A/N: **like almost everyone else who saw Thor or the Avengers, I have developed a bit of an obsession with Loki and I kind of had to write something about him. I wanted this to be a pairing with a female character from the Avengers since that is the timeline I'm following but I think it's pretty obvious that Natasha and Clint had something going on and I certainly wasn't going to steal Pepper away from Tony, so an OC it is. I am going solely off information provided in the movies because I don't know the comics well enough to do any of the plotlines in them justice. And I have only seen the Avengers once, sadly, so I may mess up some of the details. If you notice an error, please let me know! Even though I have to alter elements of the plot to include my OC, I would still like everything to be as accurate as possible. In case you were curious, the title is part of a song by the Pop Group. Anyways, here is chapter one! I hope you like it & thank you very much for reading!

Beyond Good and Evil: Chapter One

Avery Harrison didn't speak German, wear high heels, or listen to opera if she could at all help it. Yet here she was in Stuttgart, stumbling in matters both lingual and ambulatory due to her elementary knowledge of Deutsch and the torturously uncomfortable shoes loaned to her by her best friend and travelling companion, Emma Lennox, who was also the girl responsible for their outing to the opera that evening. Avery had wanted to stay at their hotel room for that night to read and order whatever vegetarian food could be found in a locality that specialized in meat and beer, but her resistance had been futile. Instead, Emma had essentially forced her to wear an absurdly expensive evening gown with similarly elegant heels, actually do something with her hair, and put on a cosmetic counter's worth of make-up. Suffice it to say Avery felt very out of her element.

It wasn't that she went around wearing sweat pants and Crocs all the time or something; she liked looking nice just as much as the next girl. But she was so done up that she didn't even resemble herself anymore, which made her feel even more out of place than being in a country whose language was completely new to her already did. Emma, who Avery had met during her first year at Columbia, was a born socialite and was used to going to events like this. But even after knowing her for four years, Emma's natural ability to properly conduct herself in high society had yet to rub off on her. Which was apparent to everyone by the way Avery could barely keep from falling over even while standing still.

"Remind me again of what we're doing at an opera house when we both hate this kind of music?" Avery muttered as they strolled – or in Avery's case, lurched – about the atrium.

"This is supposed to be one of the best opera houses in all of Europe, Avery! And there's free champagne. You can't disagree with that, can you?" Emma replied, gesturing to a passing waiter, who promptly held out a tray full of drinks toward them.

"_Danke_," Avery said, taking a one of the flutes from him and turning back to Emma, "but it's not really free, these tickets cost a fortune."

"Jesus Avery, can't you just try to enjoy yourself? You can't get a refund now so you might as well stop complaining," Emma told her, impatience edging its way into her normally calm voice.

Avery made a mental note to stop grumbling about everything. She was fairly certain she had made this same note a number of times over the past couple days but unfortunately, faultfinding came much easier to her than cheerful optimism. Still, she took a large sip of the deliciously fizzy beverage in her hand, and felt her spirits rise considerably.

"Well, the champagne _is_ pretty fantastic," Avery remarked, surprised to hear how upbeat she suddenly sounded.

"Will you stop glowering at everyone now?" Emma asked, only partially in jest.

"Sure, as long as they have free refills on this stuff!" Avery answered, taking another sip.

"You're terrible." Emma said, smiling slightly.

"I know." Avery smiled back, glancing around the room idly.

Her gaze strayed to the impressive marble staircase that lead up to the theatre's balcony seating and found herself staring at a tall, dark-haired man striding slowly and purposefully down the steps. He was dressed in an immaculately cut suit and had accessorized it with a beautifully patterned silk scarf that she found herself envying. With his expensive attire and patrician features, he looked as though he had every right to be there. But, for some inexplicable reason, Avery thought there was something slightly abnormal about him. Perhaps it was the fact that he was carrying some type of cane, the handle of which was emitting a faint blue glow or maybe it was the oddly dangerous smirk playing on his lips. Whatever it was, she intuited that he was not there to drink expensive beverages and observe musical drama, no matter how renowned.

"Check this guy out," Avery murmured to Emma, nodding her head in the direction of the stairwell.

Emma imperceptibly turned in the direction indicated and then returned her gaze to Avery, looking highly amused.

"Doesn't he look sketchy?" Avery asked, wondering what her friend found so funny.

"Oh my god! He looks like Lucius Malfoy! But with darker hair, I guess," Emma burst out, in a volume that was significantly louder than Avery was comfortable with.

"Shut up! He does not look like a Harry Potter character!" Avery hissed, hoping that the man, who had finished descending the staircase and was now roughly fifteen feet away from them was unable to hear their ridiculous exchange.

"You're the one who's always comparing everyone to fictional characters, you have to see the resemblance! He has the pimp cane and everything!" Emma argued, lowering her voice only slightly.

Avery opened her mouth to retort but was cut off by a loud scream. Whirling her head around, she was stunned to see the man whose likeness to Lucius Malfoy they were currently debating smack one of the attendants across the chest, causing him to instantly crumple to the ground. Her mind reeling with confusion, she turned back to Emma, who appeared to be just as bewildered as she was.

"Do you think it's some sort of pre-show act?" Emma asked, sounding as though she herself thought this to be highly unlikely.

"I really don't think so, Emma, I think we should leave." Avery told her, trying to keep the rising panic in her chest from seeping its way into her voice.

"But-" Emma began, still trying to process what was happening as Avery reached down and clumsily removed her heels, knowing she would badly injure herself if she attempted to run in them.

"Let's go. Now!" Avery yelled, tossing her champagne flute away and cringing slightly as she heard the fragile glass shatter against the marble floor.

Grabbing Emma's hand, she took off towards the doors, which were already opened to allow the swarm of terrified people to pass through. Emma suddenly stopped, transfixed with horror as the man responsible for the maelstrom pulled out a trifurcated instrument and injected it into the face of an older man, who let out a cry of pain before going limp. Avery had to bite her lip to keep herself from screaming as well but forced herself to look away and continued toward the exit, dragging Emma behind her. They broke through the throng and started down the stairs towards the people assembled in front of the building.

Crashing into the assembly, they ignored the angry exclamations of those that they stumbled into, fighting desperately against the mass to get as far away from the opera house as possible. Avery heard a collective gasp from those around her and involuntarily turned to see what had transpired, catching a glimpse of something truly unbelievable. The man with the cane – who Avery's mind stubbornly referred to as Lucius Malfoy despite her best efforts to cease the comparison – was slowly advancing toward the crowd, his clothing dissolving into a gilded suit of black armor, complete with a golden-pronged helmet.

"What the fuck is going on?" Emma demanded, as if she expected Avery to know the answer.

"Wait, I think he's about to say something," Avery whispered, hoping that whatever the man had to say would somehow explain everything and that the entire event had just been some big practical joke and that suddenly Ashton Kutcher would jump out and tell them they had all been Punk'd.

Which of course was ridiculous, none of them were celebrities so there was no way he would waste his time trying to prank them. And besides that, Punk'd wasn't even on television anymore, was it? Avery considered this for a moment before realizing that she could be moments away from death and here she was wondering if some inane reality show was still being broadcast. What on earth was wrong with her? Consequently, she had missed the beginning of whatever the man had said and just caught the end of it, which was curiously being spoken in English despite their present whereabouts.

"Now kneel before me." The man commanded, sounding deadly serious despite the rather absurd order.

"Who the fuck does this guy think he is?" Emma hissed, revealing the tendency she had for cursing when she was extremely perturbed.

"I don't know but I think we should do it." Avery replied quietly, bending to one knee and trying to tug Emma down with her.

"What are you _doing? _We're not going to kneel to this asshole!" Emma exclaimed, yanking her hand out of Avery's grasp angrily.

"Please, Emma, just do it." Avery whispered, feeling her throat tighten as her eyes stung with helpless tears.

Seeing how distressed Avery was, Emma acquiesced. Avery couldn't believe the mess she was in: she was shivering in the frigid night air, barefoot and wearing only the stupid silk dress, which was about as effective in keeping her warm as a plastic bag. A million miles from home, she had genuflected before the semblance of a viking while crying pitifully. She had entertained a feeling that she wouldn't enjoy herself earlier that evening but this was a situation far worse than anything her pessimistic and overly-active imagination could have conjured up. And now an older man in the crowd had been so bold as to confront the conductor of all the madness, refusing to bow down to such a tyrant. This was met with a supercilious smile from the man in the helm, his expression suggesting he thought this was a most unwise decision.

"In the end, you will always kneel." He said.

"Not to men like you." The lone resister replied, though Avery could hear his courage fading.

The despot laughed slightly, stepping toward him. It was a strange juxtaposition, that foreboding smirk playing on his lips, while the rest of his face held an almost adolescent innocence. For a moment, he could have almost been a boy playing dress-up, until Avery saw that his caricature of a smile didn't reach his viridian eyes, which glinted with an undisguised malice. And as if that wasn't worrisome enough, his subsequent proclamation was enough to send a chill down her spine.

"There are no men like me."

With that, he raised the object that Avery had initially thought was a cane and now realized was actually a sort of staff. And judging by the way the tip of it was lit with an alarming cerulean glow, it was imbued with a power that she absolutely did not want to see demonstrated. Aiming it at the man in the crowd, it issued a jolt of energy that was so bright Avery had to close her eyes. When she opened them, black dots marred her vision yet she could see that the bolt had never reached its target and had instead been deflected by a man clad in an excess of spandex who was wielding a circular shield. Bemused, Avery looked back at the man in the black armor and was almost reassured to see that he was just as disconcerted by the appearance of the extremely patriotically attired soldier as she was.

"What the hell is this?" Emma whimpered from her spot beside Avery, holding her arms above herself as if it would protect her from the decidedly supernatural battle occurring overhead.

"Let's go while they're occupied," Avery murmured, knowing it was their only chance of escaping the tumult surrounding them.

Emma nodded and they stood up, turning to flee from the mêlée. Avery reached for her friend's hand, trying to keep from becoming separated but it was impossible to find in the clamor of limbs and she began to lose Emma, who was slipping easily through the crush of people as Avery was delayed by the confused mass. Behind her, she could hear the crackle of electricity emanating from the staff and somehow knew that it would hit her if she didn't move. Before her body had even begun to shift in any particular direction, she felt a tremendous force slam into her and toppled over, catching a glimpse of the man in the spandex deflecting the surge of power with his shield just before her skull made contact with the pavement. She had one last coherent thought before her vision went completely dark:

_I told her the opera was a terrible idea._


	2. Chapter Two

**A/N: **thank you very much to everyone who showed the first chapter some appreciation, whether by reading, reviewing, favorite-ing, or adding it to your alert lists! It makes me really happy to know that there are people out there enjoying this story and encourages me to write more, so thank you again! Just in case you all were wondering, there will probably be a couple of chapters written from Loki's perspective but I'm not alternating perspectives every other chapter like I normally would and I don't like switching between them in a single chapter so it may be a bit sporadic. Anyways, here is chapter two, hope you enjoy!

P.S: I have a giveaway happening on my tumblr right now – my URL is officialbrucewayne– and if you enter, you have a chance to win one of 3 unique Loki linocuts made by me. It's open until June 1st! I will be putting a link up on my profile so it's easier to locate. So after you finish reading this chapter, you may want to go and check it out!

Beyond Good and Evil: Chapter Two

If Avery were to take the worst hangover of her life and to multiply it by about a hundred, she would have been close to feeling as dreadful as she did upon waking. It felt as though someone had taken her brain and was repeatedly slamming against the inside of her head, causing her to exhale sharply as a particularly severe swell of pain beat against her temple, which was covered with a length of blood-stiffened gauze. She heard hurried footsteps coming towards her and opened her eyes slightly, squinting against the fluorescence. A man slowly came into focus above her, the details of his appearance taking much longer to register than normally would. Still, she admitted to herself, it was worth the wait. He was tall and muscular, with short blond hair and a very worried expression on his ridiculously good looking face.

"How are you feeling?" he asked, sounding slightly anxious.

"Erm…my head hurts a lot," Avery replied lamely, her disorientation worsened by how flustered she felt in the presence of such an alarmingly handsome man.

"I'm afraid that's my fault. You see, when I saw Loki aiming for you with that scepter of his, I tried to jump in front of you to deflect the blow, but I accidentally knocked you over. I brought you here with me because I couldn't leave you in Stuttgart without knowing if you were okay or not. You've got a minor concussion. I'm so sorry." The man explained.

Avery opened her mouth to respond, but shut it when she realized a majority of what he had just told her made absolutely no sense whatsoever. Who the hell was Loki? And what was all this gibberish about a _scepter_? Then suddenly, she remembered. The Opera. With Emma. Some sort of antlered desperado forcing them all to kneel. That guy in blue spandex. Who was apparently the man she was conversing with at the moment. It was a lot to absorb but, she reasoned, at least the concussion hadn't obliterated her memory.

"You shouldn't be apologizing. I should be thanking you. I'm pretty sure you saved my life back there." Avery told him, gratified to see the corner of his lips twitch up in a small smile.

"Just doing my job," he said modestly.

"Speaking of which, what exactly is your job? Do you just show up whenever a total psychopath tries to force civilians to do his evil bidding?" Avery wondered, puzzled.

"Something like that." He smiled. "My name's Steve. Steve Rogers. Although more people know me as Captain America."

"I'm Avery Harrison. I don't have a cool alternate name though. It's nice to meet you." Avery told him, ignoring the nagging feeling that she had heard the moniker Captain America before.

"Likewise." Steve replied.

Just then the Bluetooth-like device he wore looped around one ear crackled to life and a very agitated voice became audible.

"_Rogers, where the hell are you? Get down here!"_

"I suppose that's my cue," Steve said with a grimace.

"Wait. Before you go, can you tell me where I am and what's going on?" Avery asked, realizing with a jolt that she had barely given thought to either question.

"Of course! How stupid of me. You're in the medical bay of the S.H.I.E.L.D Helicarrier. And right now, Loki is threatening to take over the world. Simply put, we have to nip that plan in the bud. I'm sorry I can't tell you any more than that, but Fury will kill me if I don't get down to the bridge right now. I'll be back to check on you later if all goes well!" Steve replied, finishing the sentence as he left the room and leaving her staring after him, feeling even more confused than she had been before his explanation.

"Good luck." She murmured.

She lay back against the pillows for a moment, trying to get her bearings, but sat up a second later. There was no way she could just lay on the cot like a useless rag doll when there was a big chance Emma was still back in Stuttgart, alone and worried sick. She looked around for someone who could help her to get in touch with Emma but found that the small, sparsely furnished room was unoccupied save for her. After a few moments of debating herself, she inevitably went against her better judgment and rolled out of the bed, groaning slightly as the sudden motion triggered an onslaught of pain in her already aching skull. Exhaling slowly, she stood upright on shaking legs and then realized her dress had been replaced with a thin hospital gown which barely reached mid-thigh. Feeling extremely exposed, she folded her arms across her chest and wondered how she could be expected to walk around the aircraft dressed as she was before spying a pair of black pants and a long sleeved black shirt folded up on the ground beside her feet.

The clothing fit her very poorly as it was clearly made for someone much taller than her, but she put it on anyways, feeling instantly better. Forgoing shoes, she left the medical bay and, steeling herself, made her way into the labyrinthine interior of the Helicarrier. She began her search with as high a level of confidence as someone with a minor concussion in an alien setting can have but it quickly ebbed away when she realized she had no idea where she was going and hadn't seen anyone who could tell her.

She had assumed that if she continued in one general direction she would eventually get to the center of the plane but had apparently vastly underestimated the size of the thing. And now her head was hurting worse than ever before, threatening both nausea and faintness simultaneously. Leaning against the wall, she squeezed her eyes shut in a futile attempt to hold back her tears. But when they breached her eyelids, she made no attempt to wipe them away and rather accepted them, breathing raggedly as she surrendered to despondency. Just before she allowed herself to sink into a self-pitying heap on the ground, she heard two slightly muted voices coming from what sounded like a level beneath her. Looking around, she noticed one of the many metal staircases that lead further into the aircraft and carefully descended it, gripping the railing on both sides to stabilize her shaking legs.

The stairway lead to a cavernous, brightly lit room navigated only by a series of catwalks extending to the glass structure held in the very center. It took Avery's eyes a moment to adjust to the fluorescence but when she recognized the solitary figure imprisoned within it, she nearly collapsed all over again. She turned to flee but a deep, extremely irritated voice startled her into stopping.

"Would you please tell me just who the fuck are you and what the fuck you're doing in here?"

Avery stared at the man for a moment, unable to form a coherent sentence due to her utter shock at the sight of the man behind the glass walls. Then she took in the appearance of this second man, clad in a leather trench coat and wearing an honest-to-god eyepatch which should have looked ridiculous but was actually rather intimidating. At this point, she was unsure of who scared her more; although she had witnessed firsthand the wreckage caused by the former, she had no doubt that the latter could be equally as dangerous.

"Well?" he prompted.

"I'm lost. I came from the medical bay and I'm trying to find someone who can help me get in touch with a friend." Avery explained, faltering slightly as his face contorted with disbelief.

"We are dealing with a crisis here and you need to call a _friend_? What are you even doing here?" he demanded.

"Captain America accidentally gave me a concussion so he brought me here to make sure I didn't die, I think." Avery said, inwardly cringing at the pathetic truth.

"And this is one of the best soldiers you can offer to defend your precious planet? An overgrown oaf with a shield? I must say, I'm rather offended that you think a collection of poorly conducted scientific experiments are a suitable match for me." A sly voice cut in, causing Avery and the man with whom she was conversing to turn in his direction.

"I would say _anyone_ is a suitable match for someone stuck in a cage without their only source of power," the man with the eyepatch spat out angrily.

"You honestly believe that the scepter was my only source of power? It was a welcome addition to my strength but I have no real need for it. I have already possessed several of your agents with it and they will continue to do my bidding whether I wield it or not. I could shatter this cage with my bare hands if I wanted to." Loki said, and the self-assuredness in his tone left no doubts in Avery's mind that he was telling the truth.

"So why don't you?" the other man asked skeptically.

"The moment I break out of this prison that you believe to be impenetrable, I will once again have to waste my time fighting your pathetic soldiers. No, I am quite content to stay here for the time being while you attempt to predict my next move. With one condition." Loki answered.

"As a prisoner, you're not in any sort of position to make deals." The man countered.

"Bring her to me." Loki said, speaking to the man beside Avery but looking straight at her.

"What do you want with her? She has no affiliation with S.H.I.E.L.D," the man with the eyepatch said, sounding confused for the first time.

"Precisely. She was the first to kneel in Stuttgart. I see that she is injured and that your people have done little the wound inflicted upon her by your own soldier. Although this may be of little consequence to you, I do not enjoy seeing those loyal to me suffer and I wish to relieve her of such pain." Loki replied.

"Why is it that I don't believe you?" the man scoffed.

"As I said, she has shown her loyalty to me. I wish her no harm." Loki said, cocking his head to side slightly and smiling in a disarmingly innocent manner.

Avery begged to differ, considering she probably would have been dead if it wasn't for Captain America's actions but thought it unwise to voice this thought.

"Well, tough luck. You're going to have to find another groupie because she's not getting in that cage with you." The man told him, making to leave the room.

"Bring her to me this instant or I will shatter this glorified aquarium into a million tiny pieces before personally disposing of every single person associated with your ridiculous organization." Loki ordered, all lightness gone from his tone.

The man with the eyepatch looked at Avery for a long moment and she detected a hint of regret in his hardened features, but it was fleeting and to her dismay he nodded curtly.

"I'm sorry but I have no way of knowing if he's bluffing or not. I can't risk it. And you did get yourself into this." He murmured.

Before she had even opened her mouth to protest his decision, he had seized her upper arm and pulled her over to the door of the cell, letting it slide open just far enough to admit her before forcing her in and allowing it to shut once more. Avery stared at his retreating back in shock, unable to process what had just happened. Swallowing hard, she turned to face Loki, whose lips were curving into the smirk she was already far too familiar with as he beckoned to her.

"Come here." He demanded.

She knew she had no choice but to obey.


	3. Chapter Three

**A/N: **thank you to everyone who has taken the time to read this! I'm very pleased that you all are enjoying it so far and all the kind things you all have said about it definitely encourage me to write more! I'm having a lot of fun writing this and I hope that I am doing all the characters justice so far. I know Loki probably seemed a little OOC towards the end of last chapter, but hopefully this chapter will explain why. Hope you like it! Oh, if you guys write Avengers-related stories, please tell me! I'm always looking for more stories to read about them so don't be shy.

Also sorry to promote this again but I am just guessing that if you're reading a story where Loki is one of the main characters, you are probably a fan of him and so you should all enter to win one of my Loki prints! Link is on my profile. Good luck and thanks for checking it out!

Beyond Good and Evil: Chapter Three

_Before she had even opened her mouth to protest his decision, he had seized her upper arm and pulled her over to the door of the cell, letting it slide open just far enough to admit her before forcing her in and allowing it to shut once more. Avery stared at his retreating back in shock, unable to process what had just happened. Swallowing hard, she turned to face Loki, whose lips were curving into the smirk she was already far too familiar with as he beckoned to her._

"_Come here." He demanded._

_She knew she had no choice but to obey._

Avery's legs threatened to give out beneath her as she walked toward him, trepidation burdening her every step. It seemed to take eons to close the gap between them and she saw his expression turn from that of mild amusement to slight irritation. She had to force her limbs to cooperate so that she didn't unnecessarily annoy him with her laborious pace and stood before him, unable to prevent herself from shaking with terror as she stared down at his leather boots, incapable of looking into his face.

Never in her life had she experienced such acute fear. The only recollection she had that even came close was from 5th grade, during a field trip to a nature trail close to their school. Her curiosity lead her off the trail several times without consequence but it was the last time she left it, eager to get a closer look at a collection of bright red mushrooms growing on the dark underside of a log, that she abandoned common sense and went crashing through the brush without a second thought. Her foot caught on an upraised root and she found herself laying face-down on the ground, which would have been bad enough, but when she raised her eyes she found herself looking into the pink, wide-open mouth of a snake.

Had she waited a moment longer to move, she likely would have been bitten but somehow she managed to jump up and take several steps back before her emotions caught up with her and she began screaming. Her knees shook uncontrollably for the rest of the day and she had been terrified of the woods ever since. Now, standing before a man she was sure was much more dangerous than a snake, she would have given anything to trade places with her 10 year-old self. But she couldn't. All she could do was stand there and hope that her would take some mercy on her pitiful self.

"Look at me, mortal." Loki said in a quiet, yet commanding tone.

Avery gradually raised her head, her gaze skimming over his many layers of black leather and silver armor, until their eyes met. He had the appearance of someone who had undergone a rapid decrease in health and she wondered what happened to him to cause such a decline. Though she had no knowledge of what he had looked like before now, she thought there was something unnatural about his pallor, sharply contrasting with the dark hollows beneath his bright eyes. His physical condition didn't seem to be atrophying by the way he had battled Captain America with such deft movements. But his expression haunted her, as if someone had taken his features and distorted them until any semblance of good had vacated his face.

"Hold still." He told her.

She looked at him quizzically but acquiesced, knowing that resistance to any one of his commands was not only futile but dangerous as well. He raised a pale, slender hand and made to place it on her temple, sighing with impatience when she involuntarily recoiled from him. Extending his fingers, he pressed them to her bandage, abrading the wound slightly and causing her to gasp with pain. But after a moment, she felt the ache in her head begin to ebb until it faded away entirely. Loki carefully pulled the bandage away and she cautiously felt her forehead, amazed to find the skin unmarred and the bruises completely erased.

"Did you just-" Avery began, eyes wide with disbelief.

"Yes, I did. And though I perceive you are rather astounded, you would do well to close your mouth. The gaping fish is a very unbecoming look for you." He smirked, tossing away her bandage carelessly.

"How did you do that?" Avery asked, sheer incredulity temporarily overcoming her fear.

"I thought I had made this rather clear already but were you not aware that I am a _God_?" Loki replied, raising one eyebrow slightly.

"_What_?" Avery said, unable to comprehend the magnitude of what he was telling her.

"A God. I am fairly certain you have heard of them before. You mortals seem to refer to us quite frequently, though it is usually idiotically prefaced by 'Oh my.' I do not understand why." Loki answered with amused condescension.

Avery didn't trust her legs to support her weight any further and sat down, her mind whirring with the implications of what he had just said. But as incredible as it was, it really was the only explanation that made sense for what he was able to do. Normal human beings couldn't transfigure their clothing or wield magical scepters or heal injuries with a simple touch. The thing that really scared her was that if she accepted that he was telling the truth and really was a god, she would have to then accept that a million other things she believed to be myths might actually exist.

"I take from your overwhelmed expression and sudden collapse that you were not aware of our presence?" Loki questioned.

"Only in a fabled sense." Avery replied, still recovering from the shock of this revelation.

"And it never occurred to you that all your myths might have some basis in fact? How else would they have originated?" Loki asked.

It was strange, but Avery had never really thought of it before. She had surrounded herself with myths and fairytales her entire life but as much as she wanted to believe the stories were real, she had never been given any evidence to make her think they were. And even though she was by her own description a fantasist, it was difficult to continue holding on to such intangible ideas. But considering she sat before a God, whose name she was beginning to remember from her brief forays into the stories of the Norsemen, such ideas apparently were very tangible indeed. Deciding that this was much more than she felt like explaining at the moment, she elected not to answer his question and instead asked,

"Why did you help me? In Stuttgart you tried to blow me up with that scepter and now you're being kind of…nice." Avery said, trying to read his impassive expression.

He opened his mouth to reply but closed it at the sound of oncoming footsteps and Avery turned to see Captain America – or, as she felt more comfortable calling him, Steve – storming down the narrow flight of stairs, followed by the man with the eyepatch.

"I can't believe you put her in there with that monster! What on earth is wrong with you?" Steve shouted at the man.

"It was either that or risk him breaking out of the cell! Surely you of all people can understand sacrificing one life to save the lives of hundreds of others!" the man shouted back.

"With all due respect sir, that was my choice to make. But she didn't have any choice at all. She didn't even choose to be on this aircraft in the first place." Steve said, quieter this time but still visibly shaking with anger.

"Well maybe you should have considered the danger before bringing her aboard, _Cap_." The other man snarled.

Avery glanced up at Loki, surprised to see him smiling at the exchange. Then it dawned on her. Healing her hadn't been some humane act to reward her for good behavior in Stuttgart. It was to cause tension in what had already seemed to be a stressful atmosphere on the Helicarrier as those in command tried to determine how to diffuse the situation with Loki. Just another way to lead the men who were supposed to be working with each other against the smirking God to arguing amongst themselves instead. She now remembered what Loki was the God of: Mischief and Lies. He certainly lived up to the title.

Steve seemed to bite back a retort and instead dropped to his knees so his face was level with hers, pressing his palms across the glass desperately.

"Avery, are you okay?" he murmured, his brow furrowed with concern.

She nodded, trying to give him a reassuring smile.

"I promise I won't let him hurt you." He said, glaring up at Loki.

"It's rather hypocritical of you to accuse me of wanting to do such a thing when you are the one who nearly cracked open her skull. And it was I who repaired the damage you did. You should be thanking me." Loki told him haughtily.

"It was an accident, you complete lunatic!" Steve exclaimed, jumping to his feet.

"You're being very offensive. How would you like it if I were to start calling _you_ names?" Loki asked in a lofty voice, quirking an eyebrow at the two men outside the cage.

Steve ground his teeth with frustration before whirling back towards the man in the trench coat.

"I'm begging you, sir. Please let her out of there." Steve said quietly.

"I can't risk him escaping." The other man replied somewhat apologetically.

"He didn't try to escape when you put her in there, why would he try to get out now?" Steve asked.

"If I had wanted out, I would have been free quite some time ago." Loki interjected in a bored sounding voice.

"You're bluffing." Steve said.

"Well _he_ didn't seem to think so, considering he immediately agreed to my request that she be brought to me. But that has served its purpose. I have proven to you that the man you work for is purely concerned about the Tesseract and cares not for those that are harmed in his quest to retrieve it. And now she is free to leave." Loki told him, and to everyone's surprise, the door slid open.

Avery stood up and scrambled out of the enclosure before he had time to change his mind, holding her breath to see if Loki would follow her. He didn't, and the door slid back into place with a click.

"As you can see, I had no need for 'bluffing.' Now, if I were you, I would ask why he is so desperate to get the Tesseract back. It would be a shame for you to recover it just to learn it is being used for ill purposes." Loki continued, looking at Steve.

"Because I'm sure you just wanted it to put on your mantelpiece, right?" Steve asked skeptically, yet not before sending a quizzical and somewhat worried glance in his comrade's direction.

Loki smiled slyly.

"Or, if you prefer, you could just continue bludgeoning civilians at random, which is something you have proved to be very adept at," he said.

"It was an accident, for crying out loud!" Steve snapped, his face flushing slightly.

"Come on, you two. I'll send Agent Romanoff to question him shortly." The man with the eyepatch said.

Steve looked as though he had a few things left to say to Loki but nodded curtly and followed the other man towards the stairs. Avery began to go with them but then remembered herself and went back to the cage. He may have helped her for all the wrong reasons, but the absence of pain in her skull was such a liberation that she felt as though she had to acknowledge his actions.

"Thank you. For healing me." Avery told him, surprising herself with the amount of sincerity in her voice.

He looked equally startled by her gratitude but nodded slightly in response. She turned away and hurried to catch up with the two men, feeling a strange mixture of relief and, somehow, wistfulness. Then she heard him call after her,

"Please try to stay out of the way of heavy objects and oafish men with shields, as I can't promise that I'll be here to tend to your wounds again."

Avery smiled in spite of herself, knowing that she shouldn't be amused by him. But she couldn't help it; the whole day had been so utterly surreal that being entertained by the caustic humor of a God trying to take over her home planet didn't even seem that strange. And though she knew his remark was simply intended to annoy Steve, she called back,

"I'll do my best."


	4. Chapter Four

**A/N: **hi, everyone! Thanks so much to everyone who has been reading and an extra-special thanks to those of you who have left such kind reviews. Every single one of them is a motivation to write more so I really appreciate the encouragement. Although I love hearing that you guys like the story, I also welcome any constructive criticism you might have regarding any aspect of what I've written so far, so please don't be shy.

Also, a review on the last chapter brought up the question of whether Steve was interested in Avery. I'm not sure if I will address this clearly in the story so I thought I'd just answer that here. I don't see him as being romantically interested in her, personally. He's just woken up from a quite a lengthy nap and I don't think he's in any rush to get back in the dating game just yet. His attention to her is born of concern since he feels responsible for her being in danger in the first place but I think he thinks of her as a friend since everyone else so far has been kind of mean to him or admitted to being the biggest Captain America fangirl of all time (oh, Agent Coulson). Anyways, you are free to read their interaction however you want but I just see it as more of a friendly concern for her well-being than anything else.

Anyways, here's chapter four! This one is kind of uneventful but after this Loki will be in pretty much all of them so bear with me :)

Beyond Good and Evil: Chapter Four

Avery was accompanied back to the medical bay by Steve, who was silent and pensive the entire walk, his brow furrowed in thought. Neither of them acknowledged it, but Avery was sure that their minds were both centered on the troublesome matter of Loki. Though she was curiously less scared of the god than she previously had been, she couldn't ignore that he was still harboring nefarious plans for earth behind his strangely charming façade. The real problem was that no one had been able to decipher what those plans might be, and it was throwing all of them into a restless frenzy as they waited for him to make his next move.

Steve paused at the doorway and Avery looked up at him, wishing she could reassure him that everything would be alright. But she knew that there was nothing that she could say that could assuage his concerns and even if she could think of the words, they would be lies. She didn't know what would happen to either of them and she wasn't about to pretend that she did. So she just gave him a small smile, which was the best she could manage, and said,

"Thanks for looking out for me, Captain."

He returned her smile, some of the worry in his features easing away.

"Don't worry about it, ma'am. But can you promise me something?" Steve asked.

"I can if you promise not to call me ma'am ever again," Avery replied, genuinely grinning this time.

"Okay, okay. Avery. Can you promise to stay here until this all blows over? I'd feel a whole heck of a lot better if I knew you were staying put instead of running around getting into shenanigans." Steve said, his expression light but his tone serious.

"I promise. I'm not all that keen on leaving this place again anyways considering all the trouble I got into the first time," Avery replied, fighting back the urge to laugh at his use of the word shenanigans.

She wondered why he used such dated words. Maybe it was just a quirk of his, but she couldn't help but think that they sounded like an intrinsic part of his vocabulary, not just some colloquialisms that he threw in for humorous effect. Not only that, but the way he had called her ma'am was also incredibly old-fashioned. But then again, he was quite the gentleman so perhaps it was just a habit. She shrugged internally, figuring that there were bigger things to puzzle over than Steve's moderately antediluvian demeanor.

"Good." Steve smiled slightly. "Well, I had better skedaddle back to the bridge. We've still got to figure out what to do about this Loki business."

"Right. Well…good luck?" Avery told him, unsure of an appropriate send off for the occasion.

"Thank you, ma-" Steve began, then caught himself, "Avery."

She smiled, hoping it was bright and encouraging rather than small and helpless, which is how she felt. He inclined his head slightly in acknowledgment of her attempt at bolstering his spirits and then turned and began to walk in the direction of the control room, breaking into a run just before he rounded the corner. Letting out a sigh of frustration, Avery walked to the cot and sat down, hating that she was unable to do anything but sit and wait for the inevitable calamity to begin.

After just several minutes of twiddling her thumbs and mulling over the recently transpired events, it began. With a resounding thud, something collided with the Helicarrier, causing it to violently jolt sideways. Avery tumbled off the bed, painfully landing on her knees, before scrambling to her feet again and looking around to try and see the cause of the impact. She wasn't able to determine what exactly it had been but surmised that they had either been struck by some type of explosive or perhaps another aircraft. Unsure of what to do, she sat back down on the floor and curled up into a ball, covering her ears with her hands to muffle the cacophony of alarms and bursts of gunfire. But despite her best efforts to shut out the noise, one rose above all the others. A terrifying, animalistic roar that send chills down Avery's spine.

_What kind of monsters were S.H.I.E.L.D keeping on this thing?_ She wondered, hoping desperately that whatever it was wouldn't find her.

An immeasurable amount of time passed as she sat there, ineffectively trying to mute the sounds of the battle and keep from picturing her own demise at the hands of whatever beast was contained in the Helicarrier. Several times she almost lost the contents of her stomach due to the turbulence of the aircraft but managed to prevent doing so until at last the motion stabilized somewhat and she retched, her ears ringing and throat burning. She realized that she had been crying and wiped away the tears with one shaking hand, wondering what she should do now. Steve had made her promise to stay in the medical bay until he returned for her, but how could she know that he was still alive after the maelstrom they had just endured? She wanted to find him, to reassure herself that he wasn't dead and to find out what had just happened, but when she tried to stand, her legs collapsed beneath her, asleep after being contorted into one position for so long.

Just as she crashed to the ground, Steve ran in, looking harried and slightly disheveled but no worse for the wear.

"Thank God, you're alright," he said, heaving a sigh of relief.

She wanted to repeat that sentiment but found herself incapable of saying anything, simply nodding when he helped her to her feet. He looked at her carefully, as if trying to assess her damage. Though he could find nothing visibly wrong with her, he seemed to reluctant to leave her side. Finally, she choked out,

"What happened?"

"Some of the S.H.I.E.L.D agents Loki possessed came to rescue him. He got away. We lost Thor and Doctor Banner sometime during the fight but I think they should be alright. We also lost Agent Coulson, but he's…he's not coming back." Steve replied, his voice breaking slightly.

"I'm so sorry, Steve." Avery whispered.

She didn't recognize any of the names he had just told her, save for Loki's, but from how distraught Steve looked, she guessed that he was taking the loss of Agent Coulson very personally. Wishing she could comfort him in some way, she took his hand and gave it a small, reassuring squeeze. He looked surprised at the gesture but didn't pull away, giving her a miniscule yet grateful smile.

"We should be landing in New York City soon. I guess we'll regroup there." Steve said, sounding unsure.

"So I got a free flight back home from Germany," Avery replied, smiling humorously.

"You live there, too?" Steve asked.

"Yeah. I go to Columbia." Avery told him, realizing that both of them were just making inane conversation to avoid thinking about the horrific events that had just transpired.

"What are you studying?" Steve questioned.

"Creative writing. Well, actually, I used to. I just graduated. The Germany trip was supposed to be some kind of graduation gift to myself but it didn't really work out that way." Avery replied, finding it hard to believe that just a few weeks ago she had been worried about things as trivial as final exams and now here she sat, wondering if this was to be the end of Earth as she knew it.

"Nothing ever does," Steve said remorsefully, and she wondered what part of his past he was recalling as a forlorn look darkened his features .

He gently removed his hand from her grasp and took a deep breath, as if to collect himself.

"I have to get back to the others. You'll wait here until we land?" Steve asked.

She nodded and then he turned and departed. She watched him go, thinking about how strange it was that you could go through so much with one person and still barely know them. Over the past few hours, she had come to care deeply about Steve but almost everything about him was still an enigma to her. She hoped that she would one day be able to thank him in a much more eloquent manner than she had done so far for watching out for her. But it seemed unwise to plan for a time more than a few minutes into the future when even the present was so precarious.

Suddenly exhausted, she lay down on the cot and tried to think of something to pacify her troubled mind but was unable to distract herself from thoughts of Loki. Perhaps it was because she didn't know what to make of him just yet. Her first impression was that he was evil or at least had seriously misdirected ambitions. She knew that he posed a grave threat to Earth and all of its inhabitants if he was as set on ruling all of them as he had been in Germany. But when she had been in that glass cage with him, he hadn't seemed like a crazed madman laboring under malevolent delusions. Of course, he had still frightened her at first, but without the scepter he wasn't quite as menacing. He seemed more like someone who had become so lost that the only way to find himself again had been to turn to violence and self-validation through gaining power. It was probably the single most destructive existential crisis she had ever witnessed, though she had no idea what could have triggered such rapacious behavior.

It was probably her unfortunate tendency to commiserate with the villain in literature and film coming back to haunt her, but she found herself wishing to understand what had caused his hatred toward humanity and his desire to subjugate a race he clearly viewed as inferior. She supposed that there was really no point in trying to dissect the character of someone so perplexing but she couldn't help but entertain a morbid fascination with him. Shaking her head as if to rid herself of all thoughts of him, she heard a voice over the loudspeaker announcing they had reached their destination.

She was home, but after all that she had witnessed, she doubted even the familiarity of her city could make her feel normal again.


	5. Chapter Five

**A/N: **sorry about the delay on this chapter! I'm currently writing several chapters in a row so I can post updates quicker. I hope you guys are liking the story so far! Sorry if it seems like a Steve/OC story so far, I promise it isn't. But I really love writing Steve (so much that I may be posting a Steve-centric story sometime in the future!) and kind of couldn't help myself. This chapter, as with last chapter, are sort of transitional for the next part of the story so I apologize for the lack of action.

Also, I hate to be one of those desperate writers who begs their readers for reviews, but honestly it would be really cool if those of you who have been reading could let me know what you think so far! It doesn't have to be anything detailed but knowing that people are taking the time to read this is really encouraging and means faster updates, so it's a win-win. Also, I pretty much always take a look at the stories written by people who review mine so it's kind of what Michael Scott would call a win-win-win.

Anyways, reviews are great and I really appreciate them and for everyone who has read this story so far, you're fantastic and I love you. Hope you enjoy chapter five!

Beyond Good and Evil: Chapter Five

Avery disembarked the Helicarrier in a stupor, unable to focus on her surroundings and feeling more disoriented than ever. She looked around for Steve but couldn't find him amongst the mass of S.H.I.E.L.D agents. They had landed somewhere in Manhattan and the general consensus seemed to be that Steve and his team were gathering to meet Loki in battle at Stark Towers while also trying to evacuate the borough as best as they could. As she struggled to get her bearings, one of the agents grabbed her and began pulling her in the direction of a row of black cars.

"Where are you taking me?" Avery asked, wincing at the strong grip on her upper arm.

"You can't be here right now, you're a liability. Get in that car. The driver will take you home." The agent told her gruffly, letting go and making his way back towards the crowd.

Figuring that she had no alternative, she climbed into the backseat of the SUV and pulled the door shut after her.

"Where to?" a voice asked from the driver's seat.

Wearily, Avery gave him the address of her apartment and closed her eyes in exhaustion. She was somewhat surprised the driver didn't argue with her when she told him the apartment was located in Manhattan but perhaps he didn't think that Loki presented much of a threat. It was probably a bad idea to remain in the city when she knew how hazardous the area was but she didn't have any better ideas. Her parents weren't an option and going to stay with a friend would have required a lengthy explanation of what she had endured over the past 24 hours, which was draining just to think about. What she really wanted was to collapse in her bed and try to put the entire day out of her mind, just for a little while. And if the city collapsed on her while she was asleep, so be it. She was too weary to care.

They reached her building without incident and Avery thanked her driver several times before getting out of the car and walking to the front door. It was then that she realized she didn't have her keys or her wallet or any other possessions. All of the belongings she had brought with her on the vacation – if it could really be called that after all that had happened – were still in Stuttgart. Just as she was about to unleash a litany of furious curses, the door swung open and a family that lived a floor below her poured out, all carrying an assortment of bags and boxes.

"Doing all right, Avery?" the father asked, his brow furrowed with worry.

"I've been better." She managed in response, trying to smile but failing dismally.

"Are you headed out of the city? All of Manhattan is supposed to evacuate," he said.

"Yeah, I just have to get some stuff from my apartment," Avery replied.

"Do you have a place to stay until this all blows over? We're going to stay with my sister in Pennsylvania. You're more than welcome to come with, if you want," he offered.

"That's really nice of you, but I'm staying with a friend. Thank you so much though," she answered, touched by the unexpected kindness.

"Well…okay. Be careful." He said, looking uncertain.

"I will be. You do the same." Avery told them.

They nodded solemnly and moved aside to let her into the building before leaving her standing alone in the lobby. She quickly ascended the stairs to her floor and retrieved her spare key from the top of the doorway. It had been a stupid place to keep it and she was sure that she would one day be robbed because of it but right now she was just thankful to be home. Unlocking the door and shutting it behind her, she staggered to her bedroom and collapsed onto the bed, expecting to fall asleep immediately.

Instead, she lay there feeling extremely restless, unable to relax even slightly as the threat of Loki loomed over the city. Sighing with frustration, she booted up the backup laptop she had left at the apartment and sent a quick email to Emma to let her know that she was safe and sound and had returned to New York City. Then she ambled into the bathroom and shed the uncomfortable uniform lent to her by S.H.I.E.L.D before stepping into the shower and letting the hot water pour over her, easing the tension in her muscles. She stood there for an immeasurable amount of time, motionless as rivulets made their way down her body and into the drain, taking some of her anxieties with them. Finally, she turned off the water and wrapped a towel around herself before going back to her bedroom and pulling on some of her own clothes. Feeling utterly drowsy once more, she fell onto her bed and fell asleep seconds later.

Several times she was disturbed by loud rumblings throughout the city, echoes of the battle, but none were close enough to worry her and she returned to slumber very shortly thereafter. When at last she awoke the next day, she rose and stretched, joints aching. Then she peered out the window, relieved to see that her street seemed relatively undamaged. Whatever battle had taken place was over by now, and from the relatively calm state of the city, the good guys had apparently won. She would find out the specifics later, but for right now she just needed to get her bearings.

Her stomach gave a loud growl and she realized she hadn't eaten in over 24 hours. She went to the kitchen and took out a box of Cheerios, eating them straight out of the box in large and very ungraceful handfuls to mollify her burning hunger. Searching for something to wash down the cereal, she found a can of Coca-Cola in the cupboard and finished half of it in three long sips. She felt mildly disgusted with herself but was distracted from her own slightly repulsive behavior when the intercom buzzed. Puzzled, she set her soda down on the counter and went to answer it, wondering who could possibly be paying her a visit this early in the morning.

"Yes?" she asked, fishing for more Cheerios with her free hand.

"Avery?" a muffled yet familiar voice on the other end asked.

"Steve? What are you doing here?" Avery asked, so surprised that she nearly dropped the box of cereal.

"I wanted to-" Steve began but was cut short.

"Steve?" Avery asked.

"okay. And I-" he resumed his sentence but was cut off once again.

"Steve, I don't know if you know but you have to hold down the button the entire time you're speaking otherwise I can't hear you," Avery told him, smiling in spite of herself.

"Oh! Gotcha. Very confusing contraption. Anyways, I was just making sure you were okay and to tell you that we caught Loki. We're returning him to Asgard now." Steve said.

"Can I go with you?" Avery asked before she was even aware the question had formed.

"I suppose so. Meet me in front of the building." Steve replied.

"Okay, be there in a second," Avery told him.

She put the cereal back in the kitchen and quickly brushed her teeth and pulled on some socks and sneakers, forgoing a look in the mirror. Her hair was probably in disarray and her clothes were rumpled from sleep but she didn't really care. She tucked her key into her jeans pocket and ran down the stairs, pulling open the front door of the apartment building to see Steve waiting for her on a sleek black motorcycle. He looked rather different than the last time she had seen him in his civilian clothing and aviators and she waved at him, filled with relief at the sight of his now familiar face, relieved that he had escaped the events of the previous day unharmed.

"That's your ride?" Avery asked, pointing at it.

"Sure is!" he replied proudly, patting the seat. "Hop on!"

She grinned and arranged herself behind him, knowing she would probably have to hold onto him at some point but feeling rather awkward at the thought of doing so without invitation. As if he could sense her discomfort, he turned slightly and said,

"You should probably hold onto my waist so you don't fall off,"

Still feeling slightly shy, she did as he suggested and tried not to think too much about how muscular he felt even through his clothing.

"Ready?" he asked, revving the engine.

"Yep!" she replied, and then they were speeding off down the streets of Manhattan.

Ever since encountering Loki in Stuttgart, things had gotten steadily worse for her. She had suffered a concussion, been imprisoned with a villainous God, lost a considerable amount of valuable belongings, and had been forced to question everything she knew about the world she lived in. But right now, none of that seemed so terrible. She was riding on the back of a very handsome superhero's motorcycle and they were on their way to see Loki back to where he belonged. She smiled and let herself enjoy the remainder of the ride.

When they arrived at their destination, Avery saw that a small group of people were waiting for them. They dismounted the motorcycle and went to join them, Avery hanging back slightly. There was a man with elaborately trimmed facial hair that she recognized as Tony Stark, a generally brilliant playboy sometimes known as Iron Man. She wasn't extremely familiar with his past exploits but she guessed he had been present at the battle with Loki. Beside him was a stunning woman with bright red hair and a tan leather jacket. Avery didn't linger on her because with every passing second she did, her self-esteem sunk a little lower. Also present were a short man in a maroon shirt and sunglasses, a bespectacled, professorial looking man, and a tall, incredibly muscular blond man dressed in a leather and metal style similar to Loki's.

And then there was Loki himself, in the midst of it all. His wrists were encased in metal rings and joined together by a thick chain, the lower part of his face obscured by a crude muzzle. She noticed that his skin was decorated by a series of small abrasions and wondered who had been able to inflict any sort of physical damage on someone as powerful as he was. Her heart gave an involuntary twinge at the sight of him standing there, looking almost pathetic despite his godly stature and proud demeanor.

She wished she could just feel relieved at the sight of him imprisoned, as someone who had experienced the wreckage and suffering caused by him ought to, but there was a part of her that pitied him in a way. Maybe it was stupid, but she couldn't help but think back to when she had been locked in the cage on the Helicarrier with him. She probably shouldn't commend him just for repairing damage that he had partially caused, but he had still healed her injury and hadn't done her any further harm. It would have been so much easier to hate him for what he had done, but in all honesty she just wanted to understand what possibly could have happened to turn him into such a spiteful being.

As she tried to make herself loathe him instead of empathizing with him, he lifted his chin slightly and looked straight at her. She felt her heart skip a beat as their gaze connected and she saw in his expression an indescribable mixture of anger, resignation, and something akin to regret. His viridian eyes seemed almost lifeless with the absence of their mischievous glint and she felt her resolve slip. He held her gaze until a flash of blue light took him away.

She stared at the empty spot where he had just stood and wondered why she suddenly felt so hollow inside.


	6. Chapter Six

**A/N: **wow! Such a fantastic response to the last chapter! Thank you all so much! I hope you all like this chapter; it's the first one from Loki's perspective so I hope I manage to do him justice. Sorry if this chapter gets a bit confusing at times; it tries to explain what happened from when Loki lets go and falls from the Bifrost at the end of Thor to when Loki returns to Asgard at the end of the Avengers.

As always, your feedback is greatly appreciated and I hope you enjoy chapter six!

Beyond Good and Evil: Chapter Six

The last thing Loki saw before the blue light obscured his vision was the dark haired girl. Her expression was difficult to decipher and though he tried his best, he couldn't place a number of the emotions displayed in her eyes. As he strained to get a clearer look, her cerulean gaze found his and he realized that what her face conveyed most of all was sympathy. Confused and frustrated by the idea that a mortal would pity him, he was almost relieved when the portal opened and she was eclipsed by the ultramarine glow.

Loki closed his eyes as they careened through space, opening them to find himself standing on the bridge that he had fallen from not so long ago. He stared down at the iridescent, splintered remnants jutting out over the water and remembered with unwanted lucidity the desperation he had felt just before letting go and plummeting into the dark abyss. Not for the first time, he wished he had held on. Feeling a hand clasp his shoulder firmly, he turned back to see Thor looking at him closely, his expression pained. He reached up and undid the muzzle clamped over Loki's mouth, silently giving him permission to do away with the handcuffs as well. Loki used a simple spell to melt them away, thankful that he did not have to enter the city looking like a criminal even if he was to be treated as one.

"Come along, brother." Thor said gruffly, trying and failing to conceal the slight tremor in his voice.

Loki acquiesced, wondering why Thor still insisted on using familial terms with him when he knew full well that they weren't related. He tried to summon his usual annoyance at Thor's stubborn attitude but found that this time, he was rather touched by the word because it meant that, despite all that had happened between them, Thor still wanted to believe that it was true. That Loki's true heritage and his crimes against the House of Odin were all just misunderstandings and that if he fought hard enough, he could will the brother he once had back to him.

If only it were that easy.

He was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't even notice Thor had stopped until he threw out an arm to prevent Loki from colliding with Heimdall, who stood in their path, solemn as ever.

"It gladdens me to see you have returned safely," The Gatekeeper said to Thor, though his face betrayed no emotion.

"It is good to see you as well, Heimdall. Forgive me if I seem brusque, but my brother and I must see the Allfather urgently." Thor replied.

Heimdall nodded, allowing them to pass and Loki bowed his head, not daring to meet his eyes. He instantly regretted his cravenly behavior but by the time he considered facing the Gatekeeper, they had passed him and Loki became distracted by the familiar sight of the city. It felt like a millennium had passed since he last looked upon it and he was suddenly overcome with just how beautiful it was. He was somewhat repulsed by his revelation and resolved to avoid such mawkishness even if it was only in his head. After all, it was his emotional weakness that had begun his troubles and he would be damned if he let sentiment further unravel him.

They remained silent until they reached the throne room, where Loki knew he would have to face the Allfather and answer for his actions. Suffice it to say he was not overly eager to do so. Thor halted just before the ornate doors and turned to face Loki, his expression grave.

"I know you do not forgive me for the many ways I have wronged you and I have not forgiven you for your actions either, but I am begging you now to heed my advice. Ask for the Allfather's forgiveness and if you can conjure up any remorse for your actions, show it plainly. He will show you mercy if you truly wish for it." Thor said quietly, more serious than Loki could ever remember him being.

Thor was naïve to believe that the Allfather would show such compassion but the pleading look in his eyes was enough to prevent Loki from voicing his opinion on the matter. So he simply nodded and hoped that Thor was right. The doors swung open and they entered, the room filled with gasps and exclamations as the Asgardians assembled within recognized him. He determinedly avoided eye contact with any of them and joined Thor in kneeling before the Allfather's throne, staring fixedly at the ground.

"Rise, Loki. You have no need to feign your allegiance to me." Odin said coldly.

Loki stood slowly, trying to prevent himself from glowering at the Allfather as Thor placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. His gaze shifted to where Frigga stood beside the throne, her eyes shining in the soft golden light of the hall. She made to move from her husband's side and he grabbed her arm to prevent her from doing so but she shook it off impatiently, running down the stairs toward him. Loki exhaled sharply as she collided with him, wrapping him in her arms and dampening the hollow of his throat with her tears. After a moment, he returned her embrace, allowing himself a moment of weakness.

"My son." Frigga whispered, pulling back and looking into his face as if she was trying to memorize every inch of it before he left her again.

"Mother." He said stiffly, knowing the word was a lie but desperately wanting to believe it wasn't.

"What has happened to you?" she asked sadly, brushing over his hollow cheeks with her thumbs and causing him to wince involuntarily at the now-foreign tenderness he had once been so accustomed to.

"Would you like for me to start at the beginning?" Loki asked softly, glancing up at Odin to show that the question was directed at him as well.

"You may begin with what happened after you fell from the Bifrost." Odin replied.

"As you wish." Loki nodded, addressing him as politely as he was capable of.

Frigga gave him an encouraging look and returned to her place beside Odin, watching him intently. Loki took a deep breath and began to recount all that had happened since he had last seen the Realm Eternal, omitting no detail that he could recall.

He told them of how he fallen for what seemed like a millennium before alighting on one of the moons of Saturn. As he lay there, weak and aching from the countless bruises and abrasions decorating his body, he had been found by the Titan Thanos, who was regarded as a lurking threat to the Nine Realms for his considerable power and malicious intentions. He had tried to escape, but he had underestimated the strength of the Titan and in his debilitated state was no match for him.

The Titan had possessed Loki and ordered him to journey to Midgard and locate the whereabouts of the Tesseract before rejoining him. Loki had found that it was being guarded by the mortal organization S.H.I.E.L.D, who knew nothing of its power or how to control it, and had reported this back to Thanos. He had been given the scepter that Thanos had used to torture him with and under the influence of the Titan, revealed that Thor harbored a love for the humans and would do anything within his power to keep them safe. With this knowledge, Thanos devised an exceedingly cunning gambit in which he was to be the winner in either outcome.

He instructed Loki to attempt to steal the Tesseract and conquer Midgard but to allow himself to be captured and returned to Asgard if he was outmatched. In this way, he would be in a better position to steal the Infinity Gauntlet, which he desired above all else. To aid Loki in his subjugation of Midgard, he had given him an army of Chitauri, a fierce but relatively unintelligent alien race, believing that if he was successful in taking over the realm, Thor and other Asgardians would come to their aid, leaving Asgard virtually defenseless and accessible to him. It was well-played and did not require Thanos to do anything but continue to torture Loki into submission, but he had relied too heavily on Loki remaining under his control. However, the connection had been broken when the scepter had been thrown from his reach and he had been brutalized by the Hulk. And as he had lain beaten and bloodied, sunken halfway through the floor, he had realized that he was no longer under the influence of Thanos and had allowed himself to be captured by the Avengers, who were surely still crowing over their easy victory.

"And now Thanos has surely realized that I have failed him and I expect that he is currently debating how best to punish me once he finds me." Loki told them, his throat dry and itchy by the time he finished.

"I see no signs of torture." Odin said finally, his voice gruff and skeptical.

"There is more than one type of torture. He was fond of methods both physical and mental. And considering my weakened emotional state when he found me, I was easy prey for him." Loki said, trying to keep his tone even but finding it difficult as he recalled the horrors he had endured while under the possession of the Titan.

"And how do we know that you're telling the truth?" a blunt female voice asked.

Loki turned in her direction, smiling humorlessly at the sight of Lady Sif scowling at him.

"Lovely to see you as well, Sif," he said sardonically, forgetting for a moment his polite act.

"Likewise, Loki," Sif replied with equal disdain, "but please, explain to us why you think we should believe a word out of your mouth."

Loki paused for a moment, searching for the best way to word his appeal.

"I know that none of you have any reason to trust me. The feeling is mutual, believe me. But I am not lying to you when I tell you that my actions between leaving Asgard and returning were not of my own volition. However, I will answer to the crimes I committed before I departed the realm." He said, staring up at Odin.

"I do not think that is of consequence now when we are threatened by Thanos. We should be setting out to destroy him, not sitting here questioning whether or not my brother is telling the truth. Look at him, Sif. Is he not physically changed for the worse since you last saw him? That is not a natural change that has occurred in him, it was caused by Thanos. Loki may answer to his crimes after we have dealt with the larger threat." Thor said vehemently, raising Mjolnir slightly as if to accent his point.

Loki glanced at Thor with a rush of gratitude before turning back to Odin.

"I refuse to go after Thanos solely on the word of Loki. If he is truly a threat to us, then we will meet him in battle. But I will not seek out war with a Titan based on what Loki has just told us. However, Thor has spoken on his behalf and for that, I will allow him a chance to atone for his crimes. In due time, we will see to the matter of Thanos. But Loki must serve his punishment before any further action is taken." The Allfather declared.

"Name my punishment and I will take it." Loki said quietly, resigned.

"You know that in Asgard, punishments are usually physical. However, it would seem that physical pain has no bearing on you, which means I must resort to a different method of punishment. One that will truly test whether or not you truly regret your actions and if you are still capable of any compassion. You are to return to Midgard and seek the forgiveness of one mortal that suffered at your hands. We who are biased towards pardoning you by our knowledge of how you once were would be too easily swayed and this is why you must win the absolution of one who has only ever seen you as you are now: cruel, spiteful and full of lies. But you may not use your trickery on this mortal in order to gain their favor: they must forgive and accept you without the aid of deception or sorcery. Only when you have been granted this amnesty shall you be allowed to return to Asgard." Odin told him.

"You would send him away when he has just been returned to us?" Frigga asked, dismayed.

"He must redeem himself through compassion towards others, as Thor has done. This is my offer. If you accept it, you shall be returned to Midgard immediately with permission to rejoin us after completing your punishment. If you do not, you shall be banished from Asgard for the remainder of your days. Do you accept?" Odin asked.

Loki bowed his head, furious with Odin for once again making Thor an example for Loki to strive toward but kept his tone even as he said,

"I accept."

"Good. Then you shall say your goodbyes and return to Midgard." Odin told him.

Loki nodded, opening his mouth to thank Odin for the opportunity for expiation. But before he could say anything, Thor gasped as if he had just remembered something and pulled a cylindrical container from a holster on his waistband. He held it up proudly.

"Brother, wait. I have brought with me a thermos of the marvelous beverage from Midgard called 'coffee.' The Man of Iron has shared with me some from the world of Starbucks and it is my great wish that you all partake of drinking it with me." Thor said grandly, unscrewing the cap of the container and releasing an aroma that Loki had to admit was quite pleasing.

He accepted the thermos from Thor but was distracted by thoughts of his impending punishment, particularly the dilemma of having to seek out a mortal to win over. And then he remembered the girl with the dark hair and the sympathetic eyes. She was a likely candidate to forgive him as she already seemed to pity him in some strange way. He sipped the hot drink tentatively, pleasantly surprised by its strong and dark flavor and had to admit that Thor was quite right to describe it as 'marvelous.'

He decided to begin his quest for forgiveness by offering the girl some coffee.


	7. Chapter Seven

**A\N: **I'm really happy that you all enjoyed the last chapter and that you mainly approved of the explanation behind Loki's attempt to take over Earth! I will be giving more detailed accounts of Loki's encounters with Thanos in the future but hopefully that explanation will provide a starting point for now.

To the review asking if Steve would continue to be a character in the story: while the story will mainly center around Loki and Avery, Steve will probably make some reappearances as he is one of Avery's friends and also a very enjoyable character to write! I'm in the middle of working out a Steve/OC story right now so I will be sure to let you guys know when it's up if anyone is interested.

But for now, here's chapter seven! It's shorter than usual but I will be posting another chapter from Loki's perspective as soon as possible. However, I thought we should check in on Avery before moving along. Hope you enjoy it and please let me know what you think!

Beyond Good and Evil: Chapter Seven

After you have witnessed battles between the heroes of Earth and Gods from a realm you previously thought to be a myth, had your entire knowledge of the world turned upside down, and befriended Captain America, searching for jobs online seemed like the most inane task imaginable. Nevertheless, that's what Avery found herself doing just two days after Loki's departure. In the wake of the events she had witnessed, she couldn't imagine anything more pointless than settling into a career, but she had no better plans for what to do with her life now that school and chaotic encounters with villainous Asgardians were over.

It wasn't as though she had particularly enjoyed being caught in the mêlée in Stuttgart or getting concussed by Steve or waiting out the decimation of her city, but it had certainly been more exciting than the prospect of proofreading amateur fiction for a living. All the plans she had made for herself prior to the night in Germany suddenly seemed like an utter waste of time. Her college education, her aspirations to write novels, everything. What did any of it matter when there were clearly so many aspects of the universe that she knew nothing about and hadn't even known existed until then? She was at a complete loss for what to do now except send out her résumé to as many places as she could and hope that she would end up with a job fascinating enough to take her mind off the fact that she had talked to a God.

As if anything could ever be interesting enough to make her forget that.

She finished emailing the long list of possible employers and then ambled into the kitchen, only remembering how low she was on groceries when she opened the fridge to find it nearly empty. Somehow, a mustard sandwich didn't sound all that appealing, nor did cereal without milk or protein bars that had been lurking in her pantry for longer than she cared to recall. Filling up a glass of water, she looked at her percolator maker longingly and wished she had the ingredients to make a cup.

"I could kill for a coffee right now," she muttered to herself, sipping the water and trying to pretend it was actually espresso.

Thankfully, Emma had been able to salvage Avery's purse after the crowd in Stuttgart dispersed and had informed her via email that nothing had gone missing, but Emma wouldn't be returning to New York with Avery's belongings until the next day. Which meant that Avery had to survive without her wallet, cell phone, and a great deal of her clothing until the next evening. By the way her stomach was growling, it was going to be a very difficult wait. She pictured herself becoming emaciated and dying of hunger before Emma returned and began to feel very miserable.

A knock on the door interrupted the melodramatic scenario playing out in her head and she went to answer it, ignoring the fact that she was still in her pajamas and hadn't showered yet. She opened the door to find the hallway empty and looked either way before turning to go back into her apartment, bemused. Then something caught her attention as she glanced down and she saw a large Starbucks coffee sitting on the ground, steaming rising from the small opening in the lid. She bent and picked it up, wondering who had left it there, and inhaled deeply, her stomach rumbling again in response to the delicious aroma. Then she frowned, noticing the immaculately penned message on the container, written in vivid green ink:

_I hardly believe that you would kill anyone over a beverage but I would prefer it if you would accept this coffee instead of going to the trouble of murdering someone for it._

She almost dropped the cup. There was no name and nothing to definitely confirm who had written the message but she knew who it had come from. It didn't seem possible but in her heart, she knew that the drink could have only been from one person. Or rather, one God.

"What the hell?" she asked, her brow furrowed with confusion as she stared at the pristine lettering.

How he had gotten back to Earth this quickly, she had no idea. And what was he doing eavesdropping on her in the kitchen and leaving her Starbucks? She sank to the ground, wondering what she had done to merit this special attention from him. It crossed her mind that he might be trying to poison her, but ruled it out when she realized that he could have killed her already without going to all the trouble of delivering her a drink. Without thinking about it, she took a large sip of the coffee and raised her eyebrows in surprise. He had gotten the amount of cream and sugar exactly right. She didn't know what to make of the fact that a slightly maleficent God was sending her coffee but she was enjoying the beverage too much to care.

She wondered if he was still watching her as she sat in her doorway and slowly sipped the hot drink, savoring every bit of it. Just in case he was, she decided she should acknowledge him. Raising the cup as if to salute him, she smiled slightly and murmured,

"Thank you, Loki."


	8. Chapter Eight

**A/N: **I apologize for the brevity of the previous chapter; it would have been much longer had I written the entire installment from Loki's perspective but I wanted to do a quick check on Avery before continuing Loki's narration. I would have posted this one much sooner but my computer crashed during a power outage and I lost at least half of what I had written.

Anyways, here is chapter 8! I'm not sure if I should split this into two chapters or just pick up after the events of the evening so if you have a preference, it would be great if you could let me know! Please don't hesitate to let me know what you think about anything else as well and thank you so much for reading!

Beyond Good and Evil: Chapter Eight

Loki never thought he would find a place more detestable than Jotunheim yet Manhattan had somehow managed to usurp the title of his least favorite place in all of the nine realms. While Jotunheim may have been bleak and overrun with unpleasant Frost Giants, he would have taken them any day over the civilians of the city. Though the mortals presented no threat to him, he resented constantly being surrounded by them and had only ventured out of his quarters twice since his arrival in Manhattan three days previously.

He had found the available living accommodations in the city very disagreeable, and was repulsed by the very thought of having to share a building with the infuriatingly simple mortals and their insufferable offspring. So he had taken the liberty of flummoxing the landlord of a respectable brownstone into letting him live there alone and free of charge for two months. He assumed that would be a sufficient period of time in which to gain Avery's forgiveness; she seemed rather easily swayed. And at the least he had spared himself the trouble of figuring out Migardian currency to pay for a room, which was probably fairly uncomplicated considering the childishness of their race, but still too trivial for him to bother with. Human minds were so easy to manipulate that Loki was confident that he would be able to last the full two months without purchasing a single item. Unfortunately, he wasn't allowed to use such trickery on Avery, otherwise he would have been back in Asgard already. No, he had to remain in the city until she decided to absolve him of everything.

Of course, he had altered his appearance slightly to avoid being recognized by any of the mortals who had paid attention to his failed attempt to subjugate their planet. He had cut his hair so it fell just to his chin and was making an attempt to stop slicking it back, as was his custom. Although he preferred it to the disheveled look he currently wore, the former style was rather more recognizable. Now that he had returned to a relatively normal state, the dark circles beneath his eyes were fading and his face looked slightly less gaunt than it had. And obviously, he had traded in his traditional Asgardian garb in favor of several well-tailored suits, several pairs of a popular Midgardian type of pants called 'jeans,' several button-downs, and one short-sleeved shirt for when the weather was too warm for anything more formal. Though his appearance was not so drastically altered that he was unrecognizable, he was certainly harder to place than before. He did not feel quite himself in the clothing, but he had to admit it was infinitely more comfortable than his usual leather and metal. And he had acquired several silk scarves that he was particularly looking forward to wearing when the occasion arose.

Perhaps tonight was one of those occasions, as he planned on paying Avery a visit at her cramped and shabby quarters. He had first been to see her almost immediately upon arriving in Manhattan, quickly obtaining her location through a simple spell. He had initially thought to use the same spell to find a Starbucks but it turned out that there was one on every street in the city anyways, and had endured the frustrating process of ordering a drink off the novel-length menu before making his way to Avery's home. The building was protected by a door that could only been unlocked from the inside, but he had simply sent a double in to deliver the coffee, a brief message scrawled on the side of the cup, vaporizing it as soon as she opened her door.

She had seemed grateful for the beverage and had even thanked him aloud for it, surprising him slightly. He supposed that, although he hadn't signed his name, it was fairly easy to figure out that he was the one who had sent it. Honestly, he had expected her to be more alarmed than she had been upon realizing who was responsible for the drink, but supposed it was beneficial to him that she hadn't had a negative reaction. Though he had to admit that his pride was slightly wounded that thoughts of him barely elicited a reaction; after all, he had just destroyed a good bit of her home and attempted to do even more damage than he had. But instead of getting the least bit worried about that, she just sat there in the hall, drinking her coffee and furrowing her brow at thoughts unknown to him.

Now almost two full days later, perhaps she had come to realize that he was not as harmless as she seemed to believe. Not that he wanted to scare her; he doubted that would help his cause. But the terms of his punishment had stated that she must forgive him exactly as he was, and he was not a harmless God who made a habit out of delivering hot beverages with inane messages scrawled on the cup. He had planned on being polite and using the door, but maybe, just to remind her of what he was really capable of, he should surprise her by transporting himself directly inside her home.

Loki rolled up the sleeves of his pale blue shirt, adjusted his scarf, and focused on his destination before opening his eyes to find himself in her kitchen. A tinny raucous was emanating from a silver box on the counter and he was most disturbed to hear that she was singing along to the music, though, he thought, that was a rather generous word to describe the noise. She was standing in front of a stove, vigorously stirring a small pot that was hissing and spitting occasional flecks of red liquid while another dish bubbled away on a separate burner. He had a predetermined low opinion of mortal cuisine, but he had to admit that whatever she was cooking had a highly pleasant aroma. Though her tuneless singing was strangely entertaining, he thought he should announce himself and did so by causing the loud box to silence itself.

"What the hell?" Avery said, sounding very annoyed, before turning around.

"Hello again," Loki told her, quirking on eyebrow slightly in amusement at her flustered appearance.

She gave a significantly delayed yelp, jumped into the air, and flung her wooden spoon at him haphazardly. He caught it easily, suppressing his laughter as best as he could, and licked the spoon tentatively. The sauce was salty, with a good amount of spice and a pleasantly sweet aftertaste. He gave her an appreciative look.

"Quite good, for mortal food." He remarked, handing the utensil back to her.

She took it warily.

"Thank you? Look, I don't want to be rude, but what exactly are you doing here?" She asked hesitantly.

"It's your home, you're perfectly entitled to being rude if you wish to be. However I appreciate your cordiality considering the abruptness of my visit. I'm here because I was hoping I could join you for dinner." Loki told her, savoring the dumbstruck expression on her face.

"I mean…yeah…okay? Sure? I'm just having pasta though, I doubt it's anything like the food you would normally eat," she replied, bemusement evident in her tone.

He had no idea what pasta was, but was too distracted to ask for an explanation. She was taking this sudden appearance much better than he thought she would have, but he supposed that maybe, subconsciously, she had been anticipating it after the coffee delivery. It was wise of her to realize that she most definitely had not seen the last of him. But he was a bit disappointed that he hadn't produced more of a reaction than a poorly aimed spoon being flung in his direction.

"It will suffice, I am sure," Loki said, trying to remember his manners, "but if it's horrid, I can always conjure up something more appetizing."

"Right. Well, I hope it's not horrid," she told him lightly, pouring the contents of one of the pots into a strainer resting in the sink.

"Can I assist you?" he asked, frowning as he saw her sticking her face dangerously close to the steaming pasta.

"Oh! Sorry! I was giving myself a pasta facial. The steam just feels really nice on your skin. Sorry, it's a habit and I don't usually have people over for dinner. Or Gods, of course. Actually I've never had a God over. I ramble whenever I get nervous, sorry." She said, talking successively faster until he finally cut her off with a steady glance.

"Um, do you wanna try the pasta facial?" she asked, gesturing at the sink.

"Perhaps another time," he replied, though he doubted that he would ever consider sticking his face into a sink full of pasta.

"Okay! Cool! Well…uh…do you wanna eat now? Sorry, there's not a whole lot of food, I didn't think I would be cooking for two. Not that it's a problem or anything but if you eat as much as your brother does than it might be-" she started.

"What did you say?" Loki asked sharply.

"Uh…Steve just told me that Thor eats a lot and I was just saying that if you eat as much as he does, I didn't make nearly enough food," Avery clarified, sounding incredibly nervous.

And suddenly, the calm façade he had worked so hard to cultivate for that evening shattered. He crossed the room and grabbed her chin with one hand, forcing her face upwards. Looking down at her, he smiled slightly at the suddenly terrified expression in her eyes. Then, in a dangerously low voice, he said,

"I am not sure what you think you may know about me, mortal girl. But learn this: Thor is not my brother, nor has he ever been. And if you ever refer to him as such again, I will not let it go so easily. Do you understand?"

"Yes." She whispered, trembling slightly.

"Good." He told her, slowly releasing her before retreating several steps and allowing her to regain her composure.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend you." Avery said quietly, looking at him carefully, as if she was afraid his control would slip again.

He didn't respond, just nodded curtly. But on the inside he was wondering how he would ever manage to win her over if he couldn't even last five minutes in her company without threatening her. He had proved his point, that he could be dangerous, and she now knew to never refer to Thor as his brother from this point on. Perhaps he should do something to reassure her that he wasn't there to cause her harm. Before he could change his mind, he walked over to the sink and thrust his head down, closing his eyes as tendrils of steam unfurled against his eager skin.

"You were right," he told her somewhat grudgingly, "this pasta facial is most enjoyable."

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her mouth curve up into a small smile.


	9. Chapter Nine

**A/N: **so I decided to just go ahead and write the second half of Loki's visit to Avery's apartment from her perspective because I felt like I would have to do a lot of backtracking and explanations of what happened if I proceeded to the next day instead of finishing up their extremely odd date.

Thank you so much for all of your kind words. Honestly, your reviews mean so much to me and I cannot thank you enough. I apologize for how sporadically this story gets updated but know that every review I receive encourages me to begin a new chapter and I really appreciate all the encouragement you have given me.

So here is chapter nine! It's another kind of short one but I hope you all enjoy it and please don't hesitate to let me know what you think!

Beyond Good and Evil: Chapter Nine

Avery had always entertained some interesting dreams, but this was too bizarre even for her. There was a power crazy Asgardian God in her small and poorly furnished kitchen. He had walked in on her doing a rather jazzy rendition of_ Call Me Maybe_. She had thrown a spoon laden with tomato sauce at him. He had gotten very pissed off at her for referring to Thor as his brother and to now calm down he was giving himself a _pasta facial_.

After four years of studying creative writing, she would have liked to think she was capable of expressing her emotions in some eloquent fashion but all that came to mind at the moment was, _what the ACTUAL FUCK?_

Strange as the situation was, she thought she was actually doing a very good job of handling herself. She guessed it was because, in the back of her mind, she had been anticipating another visit from him. What his purpose was for returning to her was an enigma, but she was sure he had a grander plan than simply to ply her with coffee. But even considering that kind and bemusing gesture, she doubted there were very many people in the world who, when presented with the villain who had just several days previously attempted to subjugate Earth, would invite said desperado in for dinner. Yet here they were, with her trying to discern what he was doing back on her planet and him soaking up the last few wisps of steam from the rapidly cooling colander of pasta.

She watched him for a moment, momentarily transfixed by his tranquil expression. Though she knew very little of him, she had already become used to the perpetual presence of either a smirk or a scowl on his face that to see him so calm and unanimated felt odd, as if she was intruding on something immensely private. To be able to look at him uninhibited by the worry of him seeing her also gave her the time to realize that he was both ethereally beautiful and extremely handsome, albeit in an unconventional way. It helped that he had washed and cut his inky black hair as well as changed into normal apparel, but the revelation that she found him attractive was startling as well as irritating.

This was going to make behaving normally around him way more difficult.

He opened his eyes and stood as the last of the steam dissolved, and turned toward her with an impish smile playing on his thin lips. His fair skin was flushed from the heat and his viridian eyes looked brighter because of it. How annoying that he could harbor such ill intentions for humanity and still look so damn appealing while he was plotting the demise of her planet. And she really didn't like that knowing expression on his face.

"Enjoying the view?" Loki asked slyly.

"No, I was wondering when you were going to get your face out of the pasta so we can eat." Avery replied irritably, realizing a moment too late that she had just been incredibly rude to a God.

He didn't seem to mind, and snickered at her annoyance.

"I beg your pardon. You did offer me the chance to try one of these 'pasta facials' and I would have been loath to pass up something that you seemed to find so enjoyable." He said, moving aside to allow her to stab the now slightly congealed heap of pasta with a serving spoon.

She reached up to remove two bowls from the cupboard but in her flustered state let one slip from her grasp. Gritting her teeth and preparing for the inevitable crash, she was surprised to see the bowl hovering several inches above the countertop, unharmed. She turned to Loki, the remarkable sight briefly distracting her from being annoyed with him, and raised her eyebrows in acknowledgment of the feat.

"Okay, that was really cool," she grudgingly admitted.

"You are very easily impressed, aren't you?" Loki asked, causing the bowl to fly toward his outstretched hand with a quick flick of the wrist.

"I know that's all simple stuff to you, but to someone unfamiliar with magic – except from Harry Potter books, of course – it's very impressive." Avery answered, earning a smug look from him.

"I do not know this Harry Potter but I can assure you that whatever magic you have learned from him pales in comparison to the spells I can perform." Loki said, now turning the bowl into solid gold with a cocky grin.

"Remind me to add modesty to your list of virtues," Avery said dryly, now remembering that she was extremely annoyed with him and his arrogant, ridiculously attractive face, "and what am I supposed to do with a gold bowl, for heaven's sake?" she added, gesturing at the ridiculous item he was holding.

"You could sell it and spruce this place up a bit," Loki suggested, looking around her apartment with an air of distaste.

"I like it just the way it is, thank you very much. You can keep your tacky bowl and if you want to leave with it empty, you can continue to insult my apartment. Or if you'd prefer, we can eat some of this pasta which has now coagulated into a highly unappetizing white mass." Avery snapped, brandishing her serving spoon at him threateningly.

She wasn't entirely sure why she felt at ease enough to tease him as he teased her, but she realized that his reaction to her faux pas concerning Thor's relation to Loki was the only time he had actually threatened her in any way. And while it had been scary and incredibly unpleasant to have her chin squished in his large and uncommonly strong hand, which had given her an unfortunate case of squirrel face as well as cause physical pain, a majority of their interactions had been almost…pleasant. He had treated her wounds on the Helicarrier, brought her coffee, and did not seem to mind their mutual raillery. It wasn't quite amity, but it was certainly closer to friendship than animosity. Not that she particularly wanted any sort of rapport with a villain, but it was definitely preferable to the alternative.

"I apologize. I did not mean to offend you or your humble yet tasteful quarters. And I would very much like to try some of the congealed white mass you refer to as pasta." Loki told her, his tone sincere but belied by the smile twitching up one corner of his mouth.

Still, it was better than nothing.

"Don't expect too much. If I had known a God would be joining me for dinner, I would have cooked something fancier but you did show up without warning so…" Avery trailed off, dishing pasta into his ridiculous golden bowl.

"I do have a predilection for turning up unannounced. But now that you are aware of it, perhaps you will be able to avoid being caught singing along to whatever that ruckus was you had on earlier," Loki replied, quirking a brow at her.

"While I agree with you that what I was listening to when you showed up has very little artistic merit, I don't think I should have to stop listening to Carly Rae Jepsen just because you find it too difficult to knock on the door," Avery retorted, holding up a ladle of sauce and gesturing towards his bowl.

He accepted it with a nod of thanks, still smirking.

"I would never ask you to censor yourself, only to resign yourself to the knowledge that you may find yourself with an audience the next time you feel compelled to grace the kitchen with your many talents as a performer." He told her, poking at the pasta with his fork.

She vowed that instant never to sing or dance along to any music ever again as long as there was a possibility of Loki turning up to witness it.

"Can I ask why exactly you've decided to come and visit me? Surely someone with plans as grand as yours has more important things to do than watch me act out my lifelong dream of becoming a pop star," Avery said, fixing herself a bowl of food and sitting down at the kitchen table.

He sat down across from her, looking out of place in the shabby room with his impressive stature and expensive clothing and patrician features. The chair was too short for him and his legs were splayed out in what must have been an uncomfortable position. While attempting to rearrange himself, his knee brushed against hers and it took an embarrassing amount of effort not to react to the sudden contact.

"The Allfather has bestowed a very unconventional punishment upon me that requires me to live here in Midgard while I carry it out. You are the only mortal I know of who does not seem to hold much of a grudge toward me for attempting to take over Earth and so I thought it best to seek you out as an ally, of sorts." He replied, somewhat haltingly, as if there were several missing parts to his explanation.

"You don't really seem like the type to seek out allies, especially an ally who has no talents that would be useful to you," Avery said bluntly, poking at her food as she watched his expression intently.

"It is always useful to have an ally, Avery," Loki told her, taking a bite of pasta and then adding, "especially one so skilled in cooking pasta."

"You've never had pasta before so I could have just served you the worst pasta ever made and you wouldn't know if it was good or not," Avery pointed out, trying to hide her pleasure at the compliment, inane as it was.

"I may not be knowledgeable when it comes to this particular delicacy, but I can still differentiate between good and bad," Loki sniffed, taking another bite.

"Well, going back to the previous topic: I never actually agreed to be your ally." Avery told him.

He gave her a catlike smile as his knee brushed against hers once more, lingering a moment longer than was necessary. Her breath caught in her throat and she felt her cheeks flush. He watched her for a second, as if savoring her reaction and then said softly,

"Oh, I think you did."


	10. Chapter Ten

**A/N: **I forgot to address in the author's note for the previous chapter, but there was a question of whether I was going to be integrating more Dark! Loki into the story. I believe there will be glimpses into his darker side, but for the most part, this is a story of him trying to atone for his crimes, not commit further ones. Additionally, I've never seen Loki as an evil character, just an extremely misguided one. That's not to say he is without fault; he clearly has a lot to make up for. But I believe that deep inside, he still has a capacity for love and forgiveness and so I am taking that spark of humanity he sporadically displays and building his character in this story around it.

Anyways, I could go on discussing Loki for ages, but hopefully my thoughts on his character will be apparent enough in the story that I won't keep posting these lengthy author's notes. Thank you so much to everyone who has shown this story some appreciation! I hope you enjoy this chapter! Just a friendly reminder that every review I receive is an encouragement to get to work on the next chapter, and I although I definitely appreciate everyone reading, it really helps if you let me know what you think of the story, too. Cheers!

Beyond Good and Evil: Chapter Ten

Loki sat on the side of his bed, shrouded in the darkness of the empty penthouse. The luxurious expanse of rooms he had been so glad to obtain suddenly seemed very empty in comparison to Avery's cramped but inviting quarters and he half-wished he had stayed past dinner. She had asked him if he would like some coffee before departing and he had been inclined to take her up on it, simply because his fondness for the beverage was quickly becoming an addiction. But he had perceived that her invitation was borne of desire to appear polite rather than a desire to prolong his stay, and had declined, leaving her to contemplate the events of the night as he was doing now.

It had not been entirely unpleasant, he admitted to himself. She had been very nervous about his presence at first, but quickly changed to a snappish, almost surly nature which he found somewhat amusing. He wasn't entirely sure if her derisive remarks were an attempt to disguise the fact that she was still uneasy with him or if her anxiety had worn off and she had reverted back to an inherently caustic manner. It would be considerably less humorous if that was how she always behaved, he supposed, but he infinitely preferred their sardonic banter over the insipid small talk he had worried she might turn to in his company. He had been surprised to find that her impertinence did not bother him, and was glad that in the course of the evening, he had only allowed himself a single rise in temper. She had taken it very well, too, considering how roughly he had grabbed her as he forced her face into an almost comical caricature of fear. And after he had let her go, _she_ had apologized and then simply let it go, as if she was used to being assaulted by Gods.

How odd.

Sighing, he stood up and began to prepare for bed even though he knew he wouldn't be falling asleep anytime soon. After changing out of his day clothes, he settled back onto the bed and wondered what he should do to pass the time. He entertained the idea of summoning one of his many books from Asgard, but decided it wasn't worth the effort since he doubted he would be able to focus on a single word. He stared at the large, mirror like object hanging on the wall directly across from the end of his bed and realized it was an electrically powered device. He concentrated on it for a moment and watched as it turned on at his command, lighting up with a brightly colored picture. It hurt his eyes to look at and already the voices emanating from it were beginning to irritate him, but it was better than the stifling quiet so he continued to let it play.

Loki had never minded solitude. Unlike most, he embraced it and was grateful whenever he had time to himself just to think or to work one of his many experiments with magic or simply to avoid the idle chatter of his peers. But now, alone in an unfamiliar realm, he found himself wishing he had someone to keep him company. For a long time, he lay there, his head propped up on the pillows, wondering where this sudden sentimentality was coming from. And finally, with a foreign ache in his heart and multicolored lights flickering across his face, he drifted off to sleep.

The following morning he awoke with a crick in his neck and a sore feeling beneath his eyes, which he attributed to a lack of slumber and the garish color scheme of the device he had been watching, which was still on. He shut it off with a silent command and swung his legs out of bed, stretching to alleviate the discomfort in his joints, then walked to the bathroom to perform his morning ritual. It had taken him several tries to become accustomed to it, but he found that he preferred showering to baths, which, although relaxing, had the effect of inducing lethargy and made him want to go right back to bed afterwards. He took a leisurely shower, used a simple spell to shave, and dressed in jeans and a short-sleeved black shirt before taking a look in the kitchen to see if there was anything remotely edible. The choices were very disagreeable; some wilted greens, containers of curdled milk called 'yogurt,' and a box of something named Kashi that he was unfamiliar with but rejected due to its heavy resemblance to bird food.

Perhaps he would drop in on Avery again and see if she had anything more appetizing. He hoped she wouldn't be irritated with his frequent visits, but he had supposed that establishing a friendship with her was the best path to winning her forgiveness. And to become her friend, he had to spend a fair amount of time with her. So another call to her apartment it was. Although he would use his manners and knock this time since morning was a notoriously bad time to surprise anyone, and he suspected she would be considerably less hospitable if he caught her while she was still asleep, or worse, in a state of undress. Closing his eyes, he focused on the hallway of her apartment building and reappeared in front of her door. Taking a deep breath to steady himself, he rapped his knuckles twice on the wood and waited.

The door swung open after nearly a minute and he found himself staring at a listless and disheveled looking Avery, who seemed suitably confused to see him there. Or maybe she was still so bleary that confusion was just intrinsic to her expression. Her normally lively blue eyes blinked several times, as if adjusting to the light, and she pushed several locks of damp brown hair behind her ear, suddenly flustered.

"Uh, hi," she said, her brow furrowed with uncertainty.

"Good morning, Avery. May I come in?" Loki asked in as polite a tone as he could muster.

"Sure. What are you doing here so early?" she questioned, stepping aside to allow him to enter the apartment.

"There was nothing to eat at my current place of residence, so I came here," he replied, inhaling the pleasant scent of soap and vanilla permeating the air as he passed her.

"Well, lucky me," she grumbled, closing the door.

"Ever the gracious host," he remarked, prompting a look of annoyance from her.

"Well, sorry, I just woke up and now you're here again, like a stray cat but with way more of an attitude," she told him.

"Excuse you. I am Loki, Prince of Asgard and God of Mischief. I am not a _stray cat_." He said testily, drawing himself up to his full height and scowling down at her.

"Hmm, you're right. A stray cat would be much cuter." Avery shot back, apparently not intimidated by his display.

"You are, without a doubt, the most insolent mortal I have ever encountered." Loki told her, wondering why exactly he had chosen to come here instead of just conjuring something for breakfast.

"I'm honored," she replied dryly as she walked into the kitchen, still maddeningly indifferent to his words.

"Sometimes I wonder if you've forgotten exactly what I'm capable of, impertinent girl," Loki hissed, grasping her shoulders and spinning her around to face him.

She appeared startled at first, some of the color draining from her face, and then relaxed slightly in his grip.

"Sorry, but I'm not inclined to take threats from someone who can't even cook his own breakfast," she said flatly, looking up at him with an air of defiance.

He emitted a low growl, wondering if he should do something to put her in her place. Then, remembering that he was here to build their friendship, not to obliterate it before it had even begun, he released her. He heard her exhale sharply, as if she had been holding in her breath.

"I apologize. That was very rude of me." Loki muttered, avoiding her gaze.

"It's okay," she shrugged, "I'm not exactly the epitome of well-mannered this morning, either. Sorry I called you a stray. It was pretty hypocritical of me considering what I look like this morning," she finished, gesturing at her unkempt appearance.

He smiled slightly, relieved that she did not seemed too perturbed by his behavior.

"It is no matter. We've both just woken up, some dishevelment is expected." He said.

"Well, that makes me feel loads better, considering you look like you just stepped out of a spread in GQ," she replied, rolling her eyes.

"Stepped out of a what?" he asked, confused.

"Nothing," she answered, waving a hand dismissively, "coffee?"

"That would be most appreciated," he said.

She took two mugs out of the cupboard and poured an equal measure of coffee into each one, handing him one of the cups and then filling the remainder of hers with cream, which she then offered to him. He accepted it, glad that she had something to temper the bitterness of the drink. Thor may have thought it sacrilegious to add anything to what he considered to be a perfect beverage, but Loki found it infinitely more enjoyable with a splash of milk, which both enhanced the taste and brought it to the perfect temperature. They both took long sips, making eye contact over the rims of their mugs. She quirked an eyebrow at him, smiling slightly, and he felt his lips curving up of their own accord in return.

"Coffee makes everything better," Avery said happily, setting down her cup on the counter.

"I would normally be inclined to disparage you for exaggerating, but at the moment, I wholeheartedly agree," Loki replied, taking another sip.

She gave a small laugh and sat down at the table, opening up a silver object that bore a vague resemblance to a book, her face lit with a faint blue blow from the screen.

"Sorry, I'll make breakfast in a second, I just want to see if anyone's emailed me back about the job applications I sent out yesterday," she explained apologetically, her fingers moving quickly over the lower half of the device.

"You are not employed?" he asked, more to continue the conversation than out of real interest.

"I worked in a bookstore part-time while I was in school, but I think I spent more money than I made because nearly every day I was there, I saw a book I wanted and ended up buying it. Luckily, most of my school expenses were covered by scholarships and financial aid but now that I'm going to grad school and have gotten a lot less help paying for it, I need something a little more substantial and the bookstore isn't hiring for any fulltime positions. Sorry, that was a lot more information then you needed," she rambled, eyes on the screen the entire time.

"What are you studying?" he questioned, this time genuinely curious of the answer.

"Creative writing. An impractical choice, but the only thing I could imagine dedicating four years of my life to. And now I'm going for my masters degree in it. I tried to tell myself that it was so I could get a teaching position if I wanted to, but I think the real reason I'm going is to prevent having to decide what to do with my life for a while longer." She admitted, closing the device.

"What do you mean?" he asked, puzzled by her defeated tone.

"Well, I want to be an author but I'm scared I'm actually a pretty mediocre writer and none of my books will get published, I guess. And now there's the whole issue of everything that I've grown up thinking to be mythical actually turning out to be true, which is really being put into perspective by the fact that I'm currently having coffee with a _God_." Avery said, gesturing at him as if she still couldn't quite believe it.

He could see how that might disrupt her plans for the future. But he had no idea what to say and doubted that anything he told her would be of much comfort anyways. He had never been particularly skilled at sympathizing with the menial problems of others.

"On the flip side," she continued, looking slightly more optimistic, "all this time I've been spending with you recently has given me the inspiration for quite a few stories."

"You plan to write stories about me?" Loki asked skeptically, raising an eyebrow at her.

She grinned and said,

"Yeah, and I just thought of another idea for one. It's a children's book about a stray cat named Loki who wanders around Manhattan looking for cranky but ultimately kind-hearted girls to feed him breakfast."


	11. Chapter Eleven

**A/N: **I'm starting to feel a little ridiculous about how frequently I've been updating this story but I've been blessed with a leisurely summer and I'm afraid that if I don't finish this before school resumes in late August, it will be put on an indefinite hiatus. So to avoid that, I will be posting new chapters pretty quickly if all goes well.

Thank you so much to everyone who has read and reviewed. I try to reply to all the reviews that I can, but I'm having difficulties with the reply feature because the page keeps timing out. Not exactly sure why, but please don't think I don't appreciate your review if I don't respond to it! Every single one makes me smile like a big dork and encourages me to get to work on the next chapter. So if you're able to, it would be so great if you could take a moment to let me know what you think of the story so far! I apologize for the brevity of this chapter but I promise I will be posting another one very soon! Cheers!

P.S: several of you expressed an interest in seeing the story of Loki the stray cat come to fruition, so it's possible that I might write and illustrate a short version of it. If I do, I'll be sure to share a link to it as soon as it's posted.

Beyond Good and Evil: Chapter Eleven

Avery's morning had already been considerably more eventful than she had planned on and it was only half past ten. The visit from Loki had been quite a surprise, though not an entirely disagreeable one. She could have done without his threats, though, because although he could be very frightening when he wanted to, she was beginning to feel more exasperated than scared whenever he lost his temper. Still, he had good reason to become irritated with her; she did have a tendency to test his patience more than was necessary. She resolved to provoke him less, strangely entertaining as it was, simply because she had no way of knowing how prevalent his destructive and violent nature still was.

It seemed to have greatly receded since she had first encountered him in Stuttgart, and she wondered what had occurred to induce such a transformation in his character. Perhaps enduring such a formidable resistance from Earth's heroes, he had realized that his attempt to subjugate the planet wasn't really worth the effort. Or perhaps his brief return to Asgard had knocked some sense back into him and made him realize he wasn't really a villain after all. She hoped it was the latter; it would be difficult to continue their burgeoning friendship if he still carried such iniquitous intentions.

But aside from his occasional threats, which seemed to stem from injured pride more than a genuine desire to cause her harm, he appeared to have reformed to a certain degree. It was difficult to gauge exactly how much, considering she was ignorant to his past exploits and couldn't tell how deeply rooted his criminal compulsions were, but at least he hadn't stabbed anyone in the face or called up any fleets warmongering aliens in the past few days. She fought back a shudder as she recalled the way he had mercilessly assaulted the man in Stuttgart and wondered how he could have altered so vastly over such a short span of time.

But it was not for her to judge him based on his past deeds. Especially because he had never done anything to harm her specifically, although his partial destruction of Manhattan could have proved dangerous to her if she had been closer to the battle. And most importantly, he seemed to be making a genuine effort to better himself, which she respected. She may have been skeptical at times, but she was a firm believer in offering second chances to those who deserved them, and she felt that he did. Why else would she have invited him in at eight in the morning, cooked him breakfast, and conversed with him for nearly two hours _while still in her pajamas_?

If he had noticed her ridiculous choice in attire, he hadn't mentioned it, perhaps assuming – quite rightly – that she wouldn't give him any food if he remarked on her appearance. Or maybe he had just thought that her outfit was considered normal on Earth. That was a rather vain hope, though. She doubted that boxer shorts printed with assorted puppies were considered normal clothing _anywhere_, and was glad she hadn't worn one of idiotic slogan shirts Emma had purchased for her during spring break as well. Puppy-prints were embarrassing enough without being paired with a t-shirt that read, in glaring neon font, "Sexy and I know it." Not that it really mattered what she was wearing; with her wet hair and bleary eyes, she would have looked a mess even if she had been clad in Marc Jacobs.

Her self-consciousness wasn't helped by the fact that she was finding him progressively more attractive.

She really hated to admit it because she knew she shouldn't even be talking to Loki, much less harboring a crush on him. But she couldn't help it. Ever since she was young, she had always favored the dark, mysteriously charming character in stories to the kind, classically handsome knight in shining armor. And now that entrenched preference was manifesting itself in real life, which would probably prove to be a disaster. It would make things so much easier if villainous types were all hideous brutes, with greasy hair and warts. The fact that he was not only funny and clever but handsome as well was just plain unfair. If only he hadn't tried to take over Earth, wasn't a God from a distant realm she previously had no idea existed, and didn't have such a superiority complex.

She let out a growl of frustration and let her head fall forward onto the wooden table with a resounding clunk.

"You jerk." Avery grumbled, feeling increasingly resentful towards him and his mesmerizing eyes and infuriatingly adorable smirk.

Sighing, she lifted her head back up and opened up her laptop to check her email for the third time that day, disappointed to see that she had received new messages. She stared at the screen for several moments before opening a blank Word document, biting her lip absently as she wondered how to begin. Then, grinning slightly, she began her story by typing in bold,

**The Adventures of Loki the Stray**.

Writing out short vignettes based around the haughty but eventually lovable cat occupied her for the better part of the day, and when she finally saved the document, she was startled to realize it was nearly three and she was still wearing her pajamas. So this is what he had reduced her to: spending the first part of her day cooking for him and the second part of it writing about what his life would be like if he were a cat. She didn't know whether to laugh at the absurdity of it or cry at how utterly pathetic she was, so she compromised with a short laugh that quickly became a self-pitying groan.

She had to get out of the apartment.

After changing into considerably more respectable clothing, she picked up her cell phone and scrolled to her most recently added contact. The phone rang for a very long time and she wondered if she had saved the wrong number. Then, just as she was about to end the call, a familiar voice came through.

"Hello?" Steve answered.

"Hey, Steve. It's Avery." She said.

"Avery! Hi! Sorry it took me such a long time to answer your call. S.H.I.E.L.D insisted on buying me one of those confounded touch screen phones and I can't figure it out for the life of me." He told her in an exasperated tone.

"It's okay! Those can be a real pain," Avery replied, grinning.

"You've got that right. And to make matters worse, Tony Stark did something to it so that now whenever someone calls me, this awful song called 'Krazy Frog' starts playing and I don't know how to fix it! It's terrible! I'll tell you, music has really taken a turn for the worst since I was your age," Steve continued, sounding distraught.

Avery let out an involuntary laugh. She had been initially confused by his old-fashioned expressions and lack of understanding regarding technology but had gotten an explanation from him after Loki's departure to Asgard. His story was truly remarkable and if it hadn't been for all that she'd very recently witnessed, she might not have believed it. But he would have to be a fairly talented actor to feign such bewilderment about a touch screen phone. She was trying to be encouraging and helpful in regard to his deficiency of 21st-century knowledge, but sometimes he just sounded like such a crotchety old man that she couldn't help but be amused.

"I can fix that for you if you want to maybe meet up today," Avery told him hopefully.

"Well sure! Is there an ice cream parlor we could meet at anywhere near you? I could do with a rootbeer float," Steve said.

"Um…I'm not sure but I can check and then call you back?" she replied.

"How about I just pick you up and we can find one from there? If you call me back, that song is going to start playing again and I _really_ don't want to have to listen to it anymore than I have to," Steve told her, slightly desperately.

"Oh, right. Yeah, that sounds great!" she said.

"I think I can be there in about twenty minutes, is that okay?" he asked.

"Yeah! I'll wait for you outside so you don't have to deal with the intercom." She replied, grinning.

"Thank you. See you soon!" he said.

"Bye!" she told him, figuring he would hang up.

Instead, she heard several beeps and then a muffled, frustrated voice saying,

"How the heck do you turn this dumb thing off?"

Avery stifled her laughter and ended the call, then grabbed her purse and left her apartment, a spring in her step. She grinned, excited to escape the confines of her apartment and hopefully forget about the strangeness of the Loki situation for a while. Then the smile on her face faltered when it occurred to her that she was going to have rootbeer floats with a ninety-two year old supersoldier to take her mind off her slight infatuation with a power hungry Asgardian God.

How weird her life had become.


	12. Chapter Twelve

**A/N: **I know I should be doing something more responsible than sitting around and writing this story but all I want to do lately is listen to music and write and, you know, _I do what I want!_ So here we have another update.

Thank you so much again to everyone who has read, reviewed, and alerted. It really does mean so much and once again, I'm very sorry that I can't respond to reviews – this website really does hate me, it took me about fifteen tries to upload the previous chapter – but please don't think I don't appreciate them because I do!

Also, I'm sorry that my story doesn't really have any action scenes. I've tried to write a few, but honestly, I'm miserable at it and I get bored doing it, which is always a bad sign. There may be brief action sequences in the future, but I hope you guys are okay with the current writing style until then!

Once again, thank you so much and I hope you enjoy this chapter because writing it was so much fun AND it's a bit longer than the usual updates to make up for the last one being so short. Beware: some fluff ahead! Feedback is fantastic! Cheers!

Beyond Good and Evil: Chapter Twelve

Loki was restless. He had read every single book in the penthouse, including the dictionary, and despite having fortified his vocabulary considerably, he felt incredibly dissatisfied. There was nothing worse than having lost your sense of purpose, to wander aimlessly in a foreign city with no discernable objective. His only task was to endear an intermittently sardonic yet ultimately benevolent girl to him, which should not have been difficult, but had been delayed over the past two days due to her unexpected absence.

Nearly four times he had visited her apartment to find it empty, the only sign of her recent presence a poorly drawn picture of a black cat wearing a helmet closely resembling the one he donned in battle. He had looked at it for several moments, wondering if he ought to incinerate it, then decided to leave it be. It would not do for her to notice that he had been stopping by while she was away, lest it feel as though he was spying on her. Which he wasn't. Not exactly.

Except that he had gotten slightly curious about her whereabouts and utilized a clever little spell that enabled him to see exactly where she had gone to, which _might_ be considered an infringement on her privacy if she ever found out about it. Not that she ever would, but he did experience a transient guilt as he watched her traversing the streets of Manhattan, a troubled look often furrowing her brow. She had been alone all but the first time, dressed in significantly more elegant clothing than she wore when at home, several sheets of paper clenched in her hand. He had eventually realized that she was still seeking employment, which was why she was wearing such sophisticated attire, and had briefly entertained the idea of switching her outfit with the absurd puppy-print shorts she had been in the last time he had visited.

It would have been a fine prank, but he was certain she would immediately realize who had been behind it and then he would have to begin his quest for her forgiveness all over again.

He understood that she had to find a job, but he had been more irritated than was needed to find that her reason for absence during his first unsuccessful visit was that she was out with that infernal Captain America. Loki had no idea what had lead her to befriend the man who had nearly split her skull in Stuttgart with his clumsiness, yet there they had been, ensconced in some cozy restaurant, sharing a dessert. The almost romantic nature of the situation had yielded an unfamiliar and unwanted emotion that caused him to recoil as he identified what it was.

Jealousy.

Not because he was interested in her. She was more enjoyable company than any other Midgardian he had encountered, but she was still just a silly, slightly cynical mortal who he only associated with out of necessity. He supposed she wasn't unattractive, but she wasn't what anyone would refer to as stunning, not by any means. Pretty, perhaps, with her often disheveled dark hair, animated ultramarine eyes, and easy smile, but nothing extraordinary. No, the reason he was jealous of the idiotic soldier was because Avery was supposed to be on his side, if she was true to her word. Not that her generally kind treatment towards him meant that she condoned his destructive actions – he knew she was still struggling to accept the mistakes of his recent past– but _still_.

She was _his_ ally and he didn't like sharing her with oafish and overly patriotic scientific experiments.

Sighing with frustration, he glanced at the clock on his bedside table. Half past seven. She should be home by now. He hoped she would be, for he had lost a fair amount of time that he could have been using to cultivate their friendship because of her absences over the past two days. Additionally, he was becoming very hungry and considering this was the time she usually took her evening meal, he was optimistic that she would allow him to stay and join her. Heartened by this thought, he shut his eyes and reappeared in her hallway, raising his fist to knock as soon as he found his footing.

Before he could, the door swung inward and Avery bounded out, nearly stumbling into him and letting out a startled exclamation as she noticed his presence.

"Oh, hi! I was wondering when you would turn up again," she said, smiling slightly as she righted herself.

"I have come to call on you several times, but it would seem you were otherwise occupied," Loki told her, trying to keep his tone from sounding too resentful.

"I've been pretty busy the past couple days looking for jobs, sorry," she replied apologetically, locking the door behind her and turning back to him.

He refrained from asking if outings with Captain America were essential to her search for employment, instead choosing to exercise some manner of civility.

"Did it go well?" he asked politely.

"Not really. I've almost given up getting work as a writer but even broadening my search didn't really help. So few places are hiring and I only got two interviews out of the billions of places I applied to. They both said they would call me, but I'm not holding my breath," Avery answered wearily, starting down the hallway.

"Optimistic as ever, aren't you?" he asked, prompting a glare from her.

"Well, I used to think that promise meant something, but years of hearing it from a fair amount of potential employers and a decent amount of guys that I never heard from again has taught me to not get my hopes up too much," she replied, a bitter edge to her voice.

They started down the stairs, Loki unsure of exactly where they were going, and he looked at her, surprised. She was obviously alluding to her romantic history, but he doubted that she would go into further detail unless asked. He wasn't sure why it intrigued him, but decided to sate his curiosity.

"What do you mean?" he questioned.

"I just haven't had very good luck with keeping guys interested in me, I guess," Avery shrugged, "why do you ask?"

"I'm simply making conversation. Do you mean that you've never been courted by anyone or that the affection was just very short-lived?" he persisted, determine to coax a more detailed response out of her.

"_Courted_? Good grief, you sound like a Jane Austen book. Of course I've dated guys before! Just, you know, not lately. And all of them were just friends I had already known for a while because I'm hopeless at meeting new people. Listening to myself trying to flirt is actually the most awkward experience of all time. I guess that's why I haven't been in a real relationship since I was eighteen. Which was like four years ago." Avery rambled, sounding continually more dejected the longer she talked.

"Then you aren't involved with anyone currently?" he persevered.

"Seriously, what's up with all the personal questions tonight?" she demanded as they continued down the stairwell.

"You aren't required to answer of them. As I said before, I am simply attempting to make conversation," Loki said, adopting a disinterested tone.

"No, I'm not seeing anyone," she huffed, "but I'm pretty sure you already knew that because if I had a boyfriend, I probably wouldn't be spending so much time alone with you."

Loki said nothing, prompting her to continue.

"You don't have a girlfriend back in Asgard, do you?" Avery asked.

He stared down at her, so taken aback by the absurdity of her question that he was rendered speechless.

"Okay, I'm going to take that as a no. But I just thought I'd check. Just in case. I wouldn't like to have a some jealous Asgardian lady on my case," she said.

He gave a rather undignified snort of laughter and then, feeling foolish, forced himself to refrain from showing any further signs of amusement at her ridiculous remark.

"I can assure you, there are no women waiting for me back in Asgard. Especially not now." He told her, catching a flicker of pity in her eyes and hastily changing the subject. "May I ask where you're taking me?"

Avery opened the front door and they stepped out onto the sidewalk, pausing to savor the warm summer breeze that enveloped them.

"I have to go grocery shopping. If you manage to make it through that ordeal, you're welcome to come back to my place for dinner," she offered as they continued on.

"I'm certain I've survived significantly more harrowing experiences than purchasing food," Loki said haughtily, watching as she raised her eyebrows in annoyance, "but thank you for the offer. That would be most appreciated," he amended hastily.

"Yeah, well, I kind of missed cooking for two people," she admitted, mollified.

"You admit you missed me?" Loki asked jestingly, trying to ignore the unexpected warmth he felt at her words.

"No, it's just that if I don't have someone else there to eat half of what I cook, I'll eat it all myself and then I'll get fat," she replied flatly, blatantly refusing to admit to any sort of sentiment.

"Charming," he said dryly.

"That's me! Oh, we're here. I'll do my best to protect you in this madhouse, but if it gets to be too much for you, you can always wait out here." Avery told him seriously, pausing in front of the doors to a brightly lit store. "Oh, also, you don't think anyone will recognize you, do you?" she asked worriedly.

"I doubt it. No one has so far. But I can perform a spell that will make it impossible for anyone to see me but you, if it would ease your worries," Loki offered.

"Well how am I supposed to have a conversation with you without looking like a crazy person?" she asked.

"Forgive me, but you've never seemed to pay much heed to normalcy so I don't understand why that would be of consequence." He replied, one side of his mouth quirking up involuntarily at her indignant expression.

"I'm really not that weird," she said crossly, "but fine. Do the spell or whatever so we can get this over with, I'm starving."

Loki acquiesced, nodding at her to show he was ready, and they entered the store. They were immediately greeted with a barrage of glaring lights and a cacophony of different voices and he suddenly realized why she had warned him. Already, his eyes were beginning to water from the fluorescence and garishly-colored packages of unrecognizable food and he felt himself quickly becoming irate with the assault on his senses. Avery shot him an apologetic look as she picked up a neon yellow basket by the door and started toward the produce aisle.

"Sorry about this," she murmured, picking out several apples and stuffing them into a clear bag.

"Is there any way I can help so that we might get out of this infernal place sooner?" he asked.

"Here, I have a list. If you want to look for some of these things, that would be great. Just try not to pick out anything too expensive because I'm on a bit of a tight budget but don't get anything so cheap that it's inedible, if that makes sense," she replied, handing him a crumpled sheet of paper.

He nodded, and turned away from her to begin searching for the items she had written down. It took him only five minutes to obtain everything even though he didn't know what half of them were, and he returned to the produce aisle feeling strangely accomplished. Then he rid himself of the thought; to feel a sense of pride for completing such a menial task was ridiculous and vaguely embarrassing. However, she seemed pleased with his selections and thanked him as she finished deliberating between two identical heads of lettuce, placing one in the basket along with everything else.

"Well that went a lot quicker than usual! Let's go get some candy to reward ourselves," Avery said cheerily, leaving him to follow her.

"A reward would be to leave," Loki put in irritably, stopping suddenly as she paused in front of a wide array of brightly wrapped items.

"Oh hush. Everyone likes sweets." She replied, picking up a package of something called Twizzlers and then putting it back indecisively.

"Well, I'm not everyone, am I?" he asked, crossing his arms and scowling at her assumption.

"If you help me pick something out than we can get out of here quicker," she told him reasonably.

He reached out and threw the first thing he saw into the basket, prompting a yelp from her as she picked it up gingerly and practically threw it back on the shelf as if it were a deathly poisonous snake.

"Ew, no way! I'm not buying blue raspberry flavored _anything_!" she exclaimed, making a disgusted face.

"Why not?" Loki asked, exasperated.

"It's not even a real fruit! Who's ever even heard of a blue raspberry? No one, that's who! It's a dumb flavor and I am not condoning the invention of it by purchasing anything labeled as such," Avery answered with conviction, as if it made perfect sense.

"If it's not a real fruit, then what's this?" he questioned, opening up his hand to reveal a small, decidedly blue-hued raspberry.

She glared at him with such ferocity that he couldn't keep from laughing.

"That's quite a becoming look, Avery. You should wear it more often," he told her.

"I wear it often enough when you're around," she retorted huffily.

"You wound me greatly," he said, attempting to feign offense and failing dismally.

"Sincerity really isn't one of your virtues, is it?" she asked.

"You wouldn't be the first to say so." Loki replied, sobering slightly as he thought back to his conversation with Thor prior to the fated coronation.

Avery must have noticed his sudden change in temperament because she attempted to divert him by asking,

"Can I try it? I'm kind of curious to see what an actual blue raspberry is like."

He handed it to her and she cautiously raised it to her lips, looking slightly apprehensive as she tasted it. Her face fell as she swallowed the tiny morsel and he raised an eyebrow in question. Sounding utterly crestfallen, she said,

"Oh. It just tastes like a regular raspberry. What a rip off!"

"Well, now that you've satisfied your curiosity, can we move along?" Loki asked impatiently.

"No, we still have to pick something out!" she insisted, moving past her momentary disappointment.

Quickly scanning the rows of various candies and chocolates, Loki selected a box of coffee-flavored truffles and held them up for inspection.

"These have coffee in them. That means they will be delicious. Now let us leave before you become distracted by anything else in this damned store." He said.

"Okay, okay, let's go check out," Avery agreed, appearing amused at his remark.

They stood in line for a brief amount of time and refrained from conversing to prevent any speculations on Avery's sanity, and once she had paid, they hurriedly exited the shop, relieved to be out of the bright and noisy establishment. As soon as they were back inside her apartment, she removed the truffles from one of the grocery bags and ripped them open, holding the package out to him.

"Life is short, eat dessert first," she said, grinning.

"I'm immortal." Loki told her blankly.

She didn't bat an eye.

"Okay, scratch the first part of that statement and just have a damn truffle," she replied.

He took one, unwrapping it slowly and placed it in his mouth, feeling slightly uncomfortable with her watching him. The chocolate melted on his tongue, the initial sweetness soon giving way to the darker, more complex flavor of coffee that he so loved, and he gave an unintentional, contented hum. She let out an uncharacteristic giggle at his instinctive reaction and he felt a slight flush permeating his cheeks.

"I _knew_ you liked sweets. Ha." Avery said triumphantly, fishing a truffle out of the bag for herself and taking it out of its wrapper.

Her eyebrows rose with surprise as she tasted it, and after she finished it, she gave him an odd salute which involved making a fist and raising her thumb in appreciation.

"Wow. Those are fantastic! Nice choice, Loki," she told him happily.

"I've discovered it's very difficult to go wrong with anything related to coffee," he responded nonchalantly, trying to ignore his stupid swell of pride at her approval.

She smiled in a curiously shy way, her blue eyes remaining fixated on his for a moment longer than necessary, and he experienced a strange swooping sensation in his stomach, as if he had been climbing a staircase and accidentally missed the top step. It was just an effect of hunger, he tried to tell himself, though he knew he had never felt such a thing in reaction to lack of sustenance. How ironic, he thought bitterly, averting his gaze.

Mendacity was supposed to be his talent and yet he was no longer capable of lying to himself.


	13. Chapter Thirteen

**A/N: **okay so I was kind of dreading writing this chapter and it took me forever because I kept becoming frustrated and starting over. It's definitely not my favorite, but it was important to me to provide some background information for both characters. I hope it's not too melodramatic but now that I've gotten this out of the way, we can get back to more enjoyable stuff in the next chapter. Also in case anyone was curious as to why I think Loki was possessed by Thanos in _The Avengers_, please let me know and I would be glad to message you my explanation because it is quite lengthy and would be too much for an Author's Note. I debated over it for quite some time because I didn't want it to seem like I was trying to make Loki seem better than he really is by placing the blame on Thanos, but after fleshing out my theory, I decided to go with it.

That aside, a big thank you to everyone reading and reviewing! Your response to each chapter is just incredible and never fails to make me smile. Because of your encouragement, I've been so inspired that we've already reached the halfway point of this story! As always, I really do appreciate any sort of review, so if you have a moment, please let me know what you think because the more people that show this story some love, the quicker I will update! Cheers!

Beyond Good and Evil: Chapter Thirteen

Avery sat at her kitchen table long after Loki had left that evening, going over every one of their conversations and agonizing over the idiotic things she had said. It had been a long time since she had liked someone so much that she had taken part in the pointless practice of dissecting every single interaction with said person, and she was glad she hadn't done it more often because it was rather mentally exhausting. Sighing with frustration, she stood up, thinking she might clean up the kitchen now that she had succeeded in robbing all of her talks with Loki of any meaning whatsoever. Then she remembered that he had already tidied it up with a series of spells, leaving every surface spotless and more orderly than it had ever been. Which had been so kind of him that she had insisted upon repaying him by sending him along with the remainder of the truffles, which, although she had meant it, was a bit of a pity.

Because at that moment, she could really use some more chocolate.

With nothing else to do, she made herself a cup of chamomile tea, hoping it would relax her enough to divert her thoughts from Loki, and carried her laptop into her bedroom. Then she changed into her most comfortable pajamas, curled up in bed with the laptop balanced on her knees, and proceeded to watch five successive episodes of _America's Next Top Model_. Because if horribly shallow, mindlessly entertaining television shows couldn't take her mind off of a certain beautiful and troubled Asgardian, what could?

Avery awoke late the next morning, feeling very exhausted despite having slept for much longer than she was used to, and realized her laptop was still on. She groaned when she saw what page she had left open before drifting into slumber, yet quickly scanned it, feeling embarrassed about her entire existence. Because for some desperate reason, she had thought it would be a good idea to Google _What to do when you are attracted to a villain _and had ended up on Yahoo Answers with this gem:

**help i like a bad boy **by 1directionfan22

so i rly like this boy taht i met a few weeks ago and i think he likes me 2, but he is kind of a bad boy and i dont kno if my flamily will let us date. he is rly sweet 2 me and so cute but he has ben to juvie b4 and i dont kno if he will stop doin drugs and stuff if we start to date. but he make me rly happy and i want to kno him more, should i give him a chance?

The top rated comment was from Love_Conquers_All and read,

**Go for it!**

Yes, you should give him a chance because if he makes you happy and is sweet to you, then he probably really loves you and you can get him to change his ways and if you give him a chance to become better. Good luck!

"Well, thanks for nothing!" Avery said, closing her laptop with a huff.

She wasn't surprised to find a dearth of answers to her predicament, as she doubted that anyone else knew what to do when the guy you liked was a God from a different realm who had attempted to conquer Earth. But still, it was unnerving to be in a situation that not even Google could help her with, and she realized that this was one of the first times the internet had failed her. Which meant she was probably pretty screwed.

Setting her laptop next to her now cold mug of tea, she swung her legs out of bed and ambled into the bathroom to take a shower. Though it didn't help solve the Loki debacle, it did make her feel marginally better to wash away some of her anxiety. And by the time she had dressed in her favorite shorts and tank-top, she was almost in a cheerful mood.

She put on a compilation of sixties singles to wake herself up and began brewing coffee, automatically making extra just in case Loki were to show up, then got out some ingredients for breakfast, very much hoping he would make an appearance. It was so strange, she thought, that he had become her main source of distress but had also become her main reason to smile all in the short span of a week. As she thought about it, her phone buzzed and she turned off the music before answering it.

"Good morning!" Emma chirped, causing Avery to flinch at her exuberant tone.

"Hey, what's up?" Avery asked, attempting to crack an egg with one hand and failing dismally.

"Not much, sleepyhead, just checking in with you. I've barely heard from you since I dropped your luggage off a couple days ago, what have you been doing?" Emma questioned.

"Mainly looking for jobs, I suppose. And, um," Avery began, then stopped herself before she could mention anything about Loki.

Unfortunately, Emma seemed to possess the capability to read her mind because she let out an excited exclamation and demanded,

"Oh my god! Did you meet someone? Like, a _boy_?"

Avery grimaced, wondering how best to answer the question. It wasn't as if she could tell Emma, "Yeah, and it's that vaguely maniacal guy from Stuttgart who kind of tried to take over the world but don't worry, he's actually really funny and super handsome when he's not dressed like an antelope who listens to death metal." So instead she said,

"Uh, sort of? I don't want to jinx it though because nothing's happened yet."

"What's his name?" Emma asked eagerly.

"Uh…Logan," Avery lied clumsily, whisking together eggs and milk with her free hand.

"What does he look like? Can I meet him?" Emma persisted.

Just as Avery opened her mouth to respond, Loki materialized in the kitchen, causing her to let out a yelp of surprise.

"What the hell was that?" Emma asked.

"Hey, I'm really sorry but someone just showed up so I have to go. Can I call you later?" Avery asked apologetically.

"Is it _him_?" Emma gasped.

"Um-" Avery said, waving at Loki with her whisk.

"It totally is, isn't it? Well, tell him I said hi and you had better call me tonight with the details! Unless you two are gettin' it on, in which case you can call me tomorrow-" Emma told her, causing Avery to blush.

"Emma! Oh my god! I love you and goodbye!" she replied, hastily ending the call before Emma could say anything else.

Loki was watching her with an amused expression on his face.

"You look flustered," he said, tilting his head to the side and continuing to stare at her inquisitively.

"Good morning to you, also," Avery replied.

"Were you speaking with a family member? Or do you use such strong terms of endearment with everyone you speak to?" he asked, ignoring her remark.

"It was a friend. I don't really keep in touch with my family." She told him, finishing whisking the eggs and pouring them into the frying pan on the stove, wondering why he was so intrigued.

"Why?" he inquired curiously, his brow slightly furrowed.

Avery sighed, unsure of whether or not she really felt like discussing her family so recently after waking up. But unfortunately, it wasn't going to be a pleasant topic no matter what time of day she approached it, so she simply steeled herself in preparation for what she was sure to be a difficult conversation and reached for a mug. Handing it to him and then giving the eggs a quick stir, she said,

"It's kind of a long and melodramatic story but if you really want to hear it, I'll tell you after I finish making breakfast."

He nodded and accepted the pot of coffee with a murmur of thanks, fixing her a mug as well without another word. She gave him a grateful smile and filled two plates with scrambled eggs and toast, setting out several toppings for both, then joined him at the table with their food. After taking a long sip of coffee, she looked up at him, briefly finding his bright, curious gaze before glancing away and beginning her story.

"I was never really close with anyone in my family. I loved them, but we didn't have much in common with each other. Not that I think you have to have a lot of mutual interests in order to get along, but that's kind of what my parents thought. They were never incredibly cruel to me or anything, but they never made a secret of preferring my older sister, Blaire, to me. She was kind of the perfect kid, I guess. A talented student, brilliant athlete, beautiful, and really popular at school. I did pretty well in school, too, but I didn't care about it as much as she did and spent most of my free time writing or reading or whatever. Anyways, my parents were both fairly gregarious and had both played a lot of sports in school so they were really proud of her and I guess since they could identify with her much more than me, they didn't really have any need for me and mainly just left me to my own devices. My sister was their angel until her last year at school.

"And then, I guess because she realized she would be going away to college soon and hadn't ever really spent any time with me, she started hanging out with me constantly. I was really excited at first, because she had never expressed any interest in getting to know me before. But then she started becoming more like me, more introverted and less devoted to school. I still don't know why. She started questioning if college was really what she wanted to do for the next four years despite having gotten a really nice scholarship from Brown, which is one of the best universities in the country, and then she met this guy who she apparently fell in love with. A few months before she was supposed to leave for school, she told us she was pregnant and that she was going to forfeit college to raise her child. As you can imagine, that didn't go over very well with my parents and they tried to get her to reconsider. When they realized she had made up her mind, they turned on me and said that all the time we had been spending together had been a bad influence on her and that it was my fault that she had screwed up her future. Because I was a nobody and I had taught her how to be one, too.

"I can't even tell you how awful it made me feel to know that they blamed me for a mistake I had nothing to do with, but they had convinced themselves that it was my negative influence, not their failure as parents, that had lead to Blaire messing up so badly. They resented me so much that they pretty much pretended I didn't exist for the rest of my time living there, and when I got accepted to Columbia, they told me that they weren't helping me pay for it and that they didn't want me coming back. Blaire didn't even say anything, she just let me get kicked out of the family. Luckily, I got a scholarship so I was still able to go, and friends let me stay at their houses during holidays, but I haven't spoken to anyone in my family since the summer I left for school. So, not in four years. I've attempted to reach them a few times, but they've never gotten back in touch with me." Avery finished, her eyes stinging and her throat very dry.

For a long time, Loki said nothing, just sat there as she allowed herself to cry. Then, slowly, he leaned forward and brushed away her tears with his thumb, causing her to shiver slightly.

"You're too good for them anyways, Avery." He told her quietly, sitting back down.

She gave him a shaky smile, unable to convey what his words meant to her through language.

"Loki?" she asked a moment later.

"Yes?" he replied, looking up from his plate of breakfast.

"Can I ask what happened with you? Not to sound insensitive, but something must have happened to make you want to, uh, take over Earth, right?" she questioned tentatively, terrified that she was now treading in very dangerous waters and that any moment, their fragile bond of friendship could snap.

His gaze hardened for a second, but then he nodded and began to speak.

"Similarly to you, I was the less favored child in my family. Thor was always the one upon whom Odin bestowed the most praise and was also the son entrusted with the hammer Mjolnir. And since Thor was the chosen child, he was next in line for the throne of Asgard despite his obvious shortcomings as a future king. Though apparently, I was the only one who could see that he wasn't ready to rule over Asgard, not yet, because everyone else was too blinded by their love for him. They couldn't see how arrogant and impulsive he truly was, and when I attempted to warn the Allfather of Thor's recklessness, he viewed it as jealousy on my part and would pay no heed to it. So I did something I now regret, for it set in motion a chain of events that I now very much wish I could have prevented.

"On the day of Thor's coronation, I used magic to allow a small group of Frost Giants – sworn enemies of Asgard – into the weapons vault, hoping to delay the ceremony until Thor was truly ready to be crowned. But when he saw how close the Frost Giants had come to stealing back their Ice Casket, which was their main source of power before the Allfather took it from them many years before, he declared war upon their race and disobeyed the Allfather's commands to journey to their home in Jotunheim planning to slaughter as many of them as he could in recompense. I tried to dissuade him, but when I realized I could not, I resolved to accompany him with the hope that I could act as a shield between Thor and Laufey, king of the Frost Giants and prevent unnecessary bloodshed. Before we left, I made sure that the Allfather would be informed of where we had gone and so that he could intervene before situation got out of hand. However, my efforts to preclude a battle were thwarted by Thor, who almost cost us our lives.

"Just as I had lost hope, the Allfather appeared and we were able to escape relatively unharmed. I thought that Thor would simply be subjected to a lecture, as was usual when he made a mistake, but instead the Allfather stripped him of his powers and banished him to Midgard until he could prove himself worthy of possessing Mjolnir and would so regain his ability to return. I was stunned by the punishment but couldn't do anything to bring Thor back without disobeying the Allfather, which is exactly what I didn't want to do. And because of my reluctance to go against him, Thor's friends – who I once thought to be mine as well – turned on me. They blamed me for Thor's banishment and attributed my resistance to bring him back to jealousy, just as the Allfather had done.

"As much as it hurt, their animosity towards me was nothing like the animosity I felt toward myself, having learned in Jotunheim that I was no more a son of Odin than this coffee mug is. After Thor's banishment, the Allfather told me the truth that he had concealed from me my entire life: that I was the stunted, bastard son of Laufey, one of the monsters I had been raised to fear and hate. The Allfather had taken me from Jotunheim when I was but an infant and raised me as one of his own sons, hoping that I could one day act as an intermediary between Asgard and Jotunheim and by taking to the throne in Jotunheim, as was my right, I could prevent the Frost Giants from ever threatening Asgard again.

"Suddenly, the lifelong favoritism of Thor made sense and I realized that the reason I never could have been king of Asgard was because all this time, I was intended to serve as the Allfather's puppet in Jotunheim. His distress at my reaction to learning this, coupled with the pain of having to banish his only true son, caused him to fall into the Odinsleep, a coma-like state that I had not the power to rouse him from. I devised a plan that would establish me as the rightful king of Asgard until Thor learned some responsibility, and prove to Odin once and for all that I was just as worthy a son as Thor. I then made a false bargain with Laufey to lure him into Asgard, where I planned to kill him myself and then to eradicate the rest of the Frost Giants.

"When I learned that Thor's devotees had journeyed to Midgard in order to help him return and dethrone me, I sent a creation known as the Destroyer after him, only hoping to prevent him from coming back until my plan was completed. However, he tried to do battle with it in his mortal form to protect a group of Midgardians he had befriended and would have died had his altruistic act not proved him worthy of possessing Mjolnir once more. He used it to vanquish the Destroyer and then returned to Midgard, full of newfound selflessness and spouting the very morals I had been trying to instill in him ever since we were children. Yet he claimed that it was some mortal woman who was responsible for his change of heart and because of his recently discovered sentimentality, he would not allow me to obliterate the Frost Giants despite having attempted to do the very same thing himself just a few days before. I fought him, desperate to see my plan through, but my destruction of Jotunheim was stopped when Thor used Mjolnir to shatter the Bifrost, severing the connection between the two realms and leaving us dangling from its splintered remains.

"The Allfather awoke in time to catch us before we plummeted into the abyss, but he still couldn't see all that I had done for him. I conquered his sworn enemy, and nearly annihilated the remainder of my own race just to prove myself worthy to him, yet all he could do was gaze down upon me with such disappointment that to return to Asgard was unfathomable. I let go and found myself in the home of the monstrous Titan Thanos, who, upon realizing how weakened and emotionally unstable I was, used his powers to subjugate me and sent me to Midgard to try to steal the Tesseract for him. However, his possession of me was snapped when I was assaulted by the beast known as the Hulk and I was returned to Asgard with Thor for just enough time to learn my punishment. In reparation for my crimes against Asgard, I was sent here until, like Thor, I can prove myself deserving enough to return." Loki told her, the bitterness in his words increasing until finally he finished his tale and sat silently, glaring at the table as if it was responsible for his woes.

Avery swallowed hard, unsure of what she could possibly say that would ease the pain that he had suffered.

"Loki, I'm so sorry." She finally choked out, reaching across the table and placing her hand over his as gently as she possibly could.

He jerked away as if she had burned him.

"I don't want your pity." He spat out angrily, furiously wiping away the tears clinging to his dark lashes.

"Well, good, because I'm not offering it to you," Avery replied, trying to ignore the twinge of hurt she felt at his rejection.

"Yes, you are. You're looking at me as if I'm some helpless child. It makes me feel weak." Loki said heatedly, his anguished eyes burning into her.

"It wasn't my intention. I certainly don't think you're weak. In fact, just the opposite. I'm just sorry both of our families are so shitty." She told him.

"Indeed they are." He agreed, giving her an unexpected smile that faded just as quickly as it had appeared.

He took a sip of coffee and they continued eating their breakfast in silence. When their plates were cleared, he looked up at her with a slightly guilty expression. She raised a questioning eyebrow at him and he cleared his throat before saying,

"I apologize. I shouldn't have taken my anger out on you, especially not after all you've done for me. I'm…I'm sorry."

"It's okay." Avery replied softly, giving him a reassuring smile.

"Perhaps to make up for it I could procure another bag of those truffles that we had yesterday?" Loki suggested, looking relieved.

"Oh my god, did you eat the rest of them already?" she asked, astounded.

"Well, they were delicious!" he replied defensively, at least having the grace to look slightly ashamed of himself.

"Your sweet tooth is even worse than mine! Unbelievable! But yeah, if you want to go and get more, we can head over there now," she told him, unable to contain her laughter.

He smiled at her, the adorable innocence of his expression causing her breath to catch unexpectedly. And then he did something entirely unexpected. Reaching across the table, he took her hand and held it loosely in his own, causing her heart to beat so loudly she was sure that he could hear it. She realized he was attempting to apologize for how he had pushed her away earlier, and watched him carefully, her breathing unsteady and cheeks flushed.

"Thank you." Loki told her quietly, giving her hand a quick squeeze before releasing it.

"For?" Avery asked, bemused.

"Breakfast," he clarified, although she was certain that was not what he meant.

Unable to speak, she simply nodded, then stood up and began to clean up the kitchen before she did something rash. He aided her in tidying up and then waited patiently as she retrieved her purse. And then they left to purchase truffles.

Which was quite a good idea, because Avery had never needed chocolate more in her entire life than she did now.


	14. Chapter Fourteen

**A/N: **thank you so much to everyone reading! You're the best! So, um, as the last chapter alluded to, things are going to start happening pretty soon here. I hope you don't feel that I've rushed this in any way, and if you do, please let me know and I will do my best to correct it. But I hope you all enjoy this chapter and, as always, please let me know what you think because any sort of feedback is appreciated and leads to the next chapter getting written and posted sooner! Cheers!

Beyond Good and Evil: Chapter Fourteen

Loki was furious with himself. He had agonized over his own idiotic behavior for the duration of his outing with Avery and had left her company as soon as he had purchased a bag of truffles for her, using some of the strange currency that he had found in the kitchen of his current residence. Why in Valhalla had he thought it necessary to hold her hand? What was it about her that caused him to act so inexcusably sentimental and utterly brainless? Seething, he transported himself into his bedroom, then stomped out into the hallway, turned back around, and reentered the room before slamming the door with such satisfying force that the walls shook.

"You absolute fool!" he chided himself, cursing his own sudden mawkishness.

Standing in the middle of the room, chest heaving in anger, he attempted to rationalize his aberrant affection. Then he took a deep breath to calm himself, wondering why exactly he was so upset about what he had done. Had he endeavored to take her hand and had her pull away, as he had thoughtlessly done, he would have a fair reason to regret his actions. But she hadn't rebuffed him, had she?

In fact, quite the opposite.

He could tell from her flushed countenance and flustered behavior that their brief moment of physical contact, though unexpected, was not necessarily unwanted. If he thought back to the exact moment he had released her, he thought he had seen a flicker of disappointment in her eyes. But perhaps that was simply his memory fabricating something that he wished had occurred. Still, there was no denying she felt something for him, even if it was simply camaraderie. He hoped it was more than that, but decided that he was willing to settle for just friendship if it was not.

It had been a very long time since he had been able to truly call someone his friend.

And why should he ruin their closeness by bringing his own clandestine affections into the mix? Had he not learned his lesson about caring too deeply for someone long before he had ever met Avery? He had and yet he was still foolishly inviting another chance to experience such utter pain and abjection.

Perhaps if his heart hadn't already been splintered by Sif, he could find it in himself to confess to Avery how he truly felt about her. But he still remembered all too vividly how he had pined for her and agonized about whether or not to reveal his feelings for her only to watch in dismay as she instead fell for Thor. And how Thor, characteristically ignorant to her adoration of him, had easily cracked Sif's cold façade by simply being his smiling, oafish self while Loki's kind words and desperate attentions towards her had been met with something akin to exasperation. Though Thor had never expressed any romantic interest in Sif, he had still won her heart and though he never intended to claim his prize, he had made it impossible for Loki to ever gain Sif's favor.

And in that respect, at least, Loki had been very jealous of Thor.

But even though his adoration of Sif had long since dulled, the pain of rejection was still so sharp as to cut through him. And when he considered that he was more taken with Avery than he had ever been with Sif, since Avery actually seemed to return his affection, why would he want to subject himself to such pain again in the event that she suddenly stopped caring for him? Then again, that wasn't an event that he could anticipate. So perhaps he should stop agonizing over it and allow the situation to resolve itself, no matter what the end result.

Or maybe he could stop this pointless worrying and take matters into his own hands.

And so it was that he found himself standing outside Avery's door that evening, holding two large coffees and hoping that she hadn't decided to go out for the night. Although if she had, then he would have two coffees to himself, which wasn't an entirely disagreeable idea. As he considered this, she opened the door, stepping aside to allow him in without a word.

"I come bearing beverages," Loki told her, then immediately mentally berated himself for so grandly stating the obvious.

"I'm starting to think you can read my mind because I was seriously just about to go and make a pot of this stuff," Avery said, accepting the cup with a murmur of thanks.

"I could read your mind if I wished to, but such effort is unnecessary to know that you are always thinking about coffee." He told her.

"You know me too well," she replied, grinning at him over the rim of the cup.

He noticed she was holding a worn book in her other hand and raised an eyebrow at her.

"I hope I haven't interrupted your reading," he said, trying to read the title of it.

"Oh, no, I've read this a million times. But I never get tired of it." Avery answered, holding up the book and giving it a fond look.

"_Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets._ Is not this Harry Potter the magician you once compared me to?" he asked.

"Yeah, it is!" she replied, holding it out to him for closer inspection.

He looked at the cover for a moment and then glared at her.

"This Harry Potter is but a fictional boy. You honestly think he is as accomplished of a magician as I am?" he demanded, insulted.

"No, trust me, he's awesome. Don't be offended. If you knew just how much I idolize him, you wouldn't be making that face at me." She told him, taking the book back protectively.

That mollified him slightly.

"Do you maybe want to read the first book?" Avery asked hesitantly.

"Oh, very well. I must admit I am curious to see if he lives up to your description," Loki confessed, sighing with exasperation.

"Okay! Hey, I'm going to go grab some snacks and find _Sorcerer's Stone _if you want to go sit in the living room or something," she told him, looking very pleased by his agreement to read with her.

He nodded and went to sit down on the sofa, sipping his coffee and absently drumming his fingers on the cushions until she returned, clutching her cup, several bags of food, and a beaten up book that she handed to him before setting everything else on the small table in front of the couch.

"I'm feeling really slack tonight so if it's okay with you, I'm having snacks for dinner," she explained, opening a package of something called potato chips and setting them on the sofa in between them.

He watched as she reached into the bag and produced a handful of crispy, golden-brown slivers that made a very loud crunching noise upon meeting with her teeth. She noticed his apprehensive expression, looked slightly embarrassed, and then nudged the chips toward him.

"You don't have to try them but I bet you'd like them. And if you don't, more for me," she shrugged, taking another handful and settling into the opposite corner of the couch with her book.

He sighed and took one out of the bag. The crunchy texture of it made him feel self-conscious about chewing, but it was very good. Salty, but not unpleasantly so. Mimicking her, he curled up on his end of the sofa and opened the book, disinterestedly scanning the first page. The fact that each chapter was prefaced by an illustration did not bode well.

"This is childish," he declared, flipping to the next page carelessly.

"You just started it, you jerk, and you're not allowed to have bad opinions about it until you read at least six chapters," she told him without looking up.

Normally, it would have taken him an exceptionally short amount of time to read six chapters of anything, especially a story as uncomplicated as this one, but he forced himself to read as slowly as possible so that she didn't think he was simply skimming each page. And gradually, he began to take an interest in it, so much so that he entirely forgot his surroundings and immersed himself in the plot. He and Avery read in a contented silence, occasionally dipping their hands into the bag of chips or taking a sip of their now cold coffee, otherwise totally oblivious to everything else. When at last he looked up, he saw that she was still utterly entranced by the words she had read so many times before, and took the opportunity to gaze upon her uninhibited.

Her brow was furrowed, her large blue eyes downcast, looking concerned. He studied the dusting of freckles on her nose and watched as she bit down on her full lower lip, wondering if she always did so when she was reading or only when she was worried by something. The sight was altogether very distracting and he had difficulty ceasing his scrutiny of her to turn back to his book, which was suddenly much less engrossing now that he was again conscious of her presence. Finally, he returned to the world of Harry Potter, though he was significantly less interested than he had been.

He absently reached for a few more chips and was surprised to feel his hand collide with hers over the bag. They looked up at the same time and he involuntarily let out a sharp exhalation as her eyes found his. She smiled slightly, looking embarrassed, but made no attempt to pull her hand out from underneath his own.

"Good thing we're not in some clichéd teen movie, otherwise you'd probably have to kiss me right about now," Avery said jokingly.

He stared at her, wondering if that was an invitation. She watched him carefully, not moving a muscle, and he thought he saw a glimmer of hopefulness in her expression. In his mind, he was leaning toward her, pressing his lips against hers, threading his fingers through her soft brown hair. In actuality, he was frozen to the spot, unable to do anything but look at her. She gave him a tight-lipped smile, and he knew that he had waited too long, that the moment had passed.

"Yes, good thing." Loki echoed quietly, pulling his hand away from hers.

"Yeah, it would be pretty gross, I have like, a _ton_ of food stuck in between my teeth right now," she told him, her nonchalant tone poorly disguising what he was sure was disappointment.

"You have a certain gift for divulging information that you would be better off keeping to yourself," he replied dryly, trying to divert her thoughts from his failed chance to kiss her.

"One of my many talents. I'm going to go wash my hands, they're covered in potato chip grease," she said airily, getting up and walking to the bathroom, leaving him alone on the couch.

As soon as she was out of earshot, he smacked himself with the book, closing his eyes and letting out an agonized groan.

"You idiotic son of a bilgesnipe!" Loki muttered angrily at himself.

He opened his eyes to see Avery looking down at him with an immensely puzzled expression on her face.

"Loki, what the heck is a bilgesnipe?"


	15. Chapter Fifteen

**A/N: **to answer a frequently asked question regarding the previous chapter, a bilgesnipe is an Asgardian creature that Thor made reference to in _The Avengers_. I thought that perhaps 'son of a bilgesnipe' could be the Aesir version of our similar saying. Sorry I forgot to clarify that last chapter!

Also, a review I was unable to reply to brought up the issue of Loki's wife in both the comics and in Norse mythology, Sigyn. I thought about including her in some way, but since there are a number of stories that write about Sigyn and Loki's relationship much better than I could, I decided to leave her out. Additionally, this is a movie-verse fic and since she's not in _Thor _or _The Avengers_, I didn't really want to bother with her. The story of Loki's past interest in Sif is just something I added to illustrate just how much Loki has been overshadowed by Thor and to provide some context as to why Loki is so wary of relationships. I suppose I could have invented a character for this purpose, but since Loki has known Sif for such a long time, it made sense to me for it to be her and I hope it didn't detract from the story.

That aside, thank you so much for all of your encouragement so far, I hope you enjoy this chapter! I rewrote it so many times and it took me forever, so it would be really fantastic and helpful if you could tell me what you think of it if you have the time! Cheers!

Beyond Good and Evil: Chapter Fifteen

As usual, Avery felt like an utter moron. She had practically begged Loki to kiss her and all he had done was stare at her with a confused expression. It was, to say the least, mortifying. Her attempt to play the suggestion off as a joke hadn't gone very well, either, and though he seemed to realize his reaction wasn't what she had been hoping for, he hadn't made any attempt to make amends for it, either. He had departed that evening with an uncharacteristically formal farewell and then left her to wallow in misery for the rest of the night.

Maybe it was a delusional idea, but she had been fairly sure that he felt something more than friendship for her, bizarre as it was to comprehend. Why else would he spend so much time with her, put up with her sarcasm and crankiness, and watch her for prolonged periods of time as she read? He probably thought he was being discreet, but though she hadn't been looking at him, she had felt his gaze and it had taken all the self-control she possessed not to show how pleased she was. But despite all of that, he certainly hadn't leapt at the chance to kiss her, and she was worried that she had damaged their friendship by even suggesting the idea.

With a frustrated groan, she flopped onto her bed and opened _The Chamber of Secrets_ up to a random chapter, not really caring about where she had last left off. And despite having read the book so many times that nearly every page was dog-eared, she was still able to fall back into the world of Hogwarts and forget about her own confusing life for a while. When she finally grew too tired to read any further, she reached over and turned out the lamp, hoping that the next day would bring some answers to her many questions.

Unfortunately, all that the next day brought was a long list of unpleasant chores that she had been neglecting for quite some time. After showering and eating a quick breakfast, Avery dressed and set to tidying up the apartment, which took longer than it should have considering its modest size. As she cleaned, she wondered who she could ask for advice about the Loki situation. She briefly considered Emma, but didn't know if she was up to explaining to her that the guy she had been hanging out with was actually the crazy God they had encountered in Stuttgart and that she was now romantically interested in him. And she wasn't really close enough with any of her other friends to bother asking their advice about her love life. Which left one name. Taking a deep breath, she dialed his number and waited for a moment as it rang.

"Hello?" Steve asked, sounding routinely uncertain of the idea that there was anyone on the other end.

"Hey. It's me. Avery." She told him, holding her phone in one hand and using the other to gather all her dirty laundry into one basket.

"So this caller I.D thing actually works! How about that?" he marveled, bringing a small smile to her face, "how are you?" he added.

"I'm okay. I was hoping I could talk to you about something though. In person." she said.

"Sure! Is everything alright?" he asked concernedly.

"Um, yeah, it's just a bit difficult to explain. Are you busy right now? Could we meet up somewhere?" Avery replied.

"I was just about to go to the gym, but I can put that off until later. Where do you want to meet?" he questioned.

"Oh my god, you're ninety-two and you still work out more than I do!" Avery exclaimed, feeling slightly guilty about her lack of exercise, "um, I have to do some laundry so could you meet me at the Laundromat by my apartment? I'm headed over there now," Avery continued.

"You know, I technically didn't age while I was frozen, so you don't have to keep pointing out how old I am," Steve said, sounding mildly offended, "but sure, I'll be there in a few minutes."

"You know I'm just kidding, Steve. You look great for your age. I'll see you over there," she told him, ending the call and slipping on a pair of shoes.

On the walk there, she made a vain attempt to rehearse what she would say to Steve that would describe her predicament without giving him a heart attack. She quickly gave up, realizing there was no easy way to explain it, and just hoped that he wouldn't be too angry at her for neglecting to inform anyone that Loki had returned to Earth and that they had been spending nearly every day together. Steve may have been even-tempered, but she doubted that he was going to take that very well.

She reached the Laundromat and began stuffing her clothes into one of the washing machines before Steve entered the otherwise empty building, looking very windblown.

"Hi there," he said, waving at her.

"Hey! That was fast. Did you take your motorcycle?" Avery asked.

"No, I ran," he said nonchalantly.

Avery paused from her task to stare at him, her mouth slightly agape.

"You can _do_ that?" she asked, amazed.

"It's one of the effects of the serum I was given. I could have been here quicker but it's hot out and I didn't want to get all sweaty." Steve replied, shrugging modestly.

"Okay, Speedy Gonzales, now you're just bragging," she grumbled.

"I don't know who that is," he told her, then suddenly blushed and averted his eyes.

She frowned, then realized she was holding a bright pink bra in one hand, which was why he was shuffling his feet and determinedly looking anywhere but in her direction.

"Good grief, Steve, it's a bra, not a grenade," she told him, grinning slightly at his discomfort.

"Honestly, I'd be less worried if it was." Steve said, causing her to let out a rather undignified snort of laughter.

She hastily finished filling the washing machine and fed it several quarters before perching on the edge of one of the folding tables.

"Okay, all clear. You can look now," she announced, and he tentatively raised his gaze until it met hers, a look of relief flooding his face.

"So what did you want to talk about?" Steve asked, leaning against the row of washing machines casually.

"There's no easy way to say this, so I'm just going to go for it. I think I'm in love with someone. Someone you know. But not someone you like." Avery started nervously, pausing to gauge his reaction so far.

"It's not Tony Stark, is it? Because he already has a dame of his own-" he cut in, his brow knit with confusion.

"What? No! I don't even know that guy!" she exclaimed.

"Okay, good. You don't want to." He told her seriously.

"It's someone worse." She continued, biting her lip anxiously.

He waited, watching her quietly, and she drew a shaky breath before whispering,

"It's Loki."

Steve's expression didn't change.

"If this is a joke, I'm afraid I don't understand the punch line," he said, bemused.

"It's not a joke. He came back to the city a few weeks ago and sought me out for a reason I'm not exactly clear on. At first I was worried that he was there to finish me off or something, but aside from a few empty threats, he's been really…nice? Since then we've spent nearly every day together and…I think I might love him, maybe." Avery said, knowing it must have sounded ridiculous but hoping Steve would give her a chance to explain herself before becoming too angry.

"Wait, so you're telling me that the power-crazy maniac who tried to _destroy _our planet has been back for several weeks and instead of telling someone, you've been spending time with him? Avery, what in God's name are you thinking?" Steve demanded.

"I know it sounds bad-" she began.

"You bet it sounds bad! Do you know how hard it is for me to not completely flip my wig right now?" he asked.

"I don't know what that means but I'm sure it doesn't mean anything good. Just let me explain, please?" she begged, looking at him with pleading eyes.

After a moment, he gave her a curt nod, willing her to go on.

"I know he's done some bad things. Some really bad things. But he wasn't himself when he tried to take over Earth, he was being possessed by a monster named Thanos who lives on one of Saturn's moons and he used the scepter to control Loki and force him to do his bidding." She explained, but was interrupted by a loud scoff.

"Is that what he told you? Avery, you do realize he's the God of _Lies_, don't you? How do you know he wasn't just making all of that up?" Steve asked skeptically.

"Why would he?" she replied.

"To get you to like him so he can use you for his own evil purposes?" he answered.

"Steve, if he wanted a servant, he would have chose someone that has a usable skill set. All I know how to do is make coffee and write, which isn't exactly useful when it comes to world domination," she said exasperatedly, "and if he wanted me to do things for him, he could have just used magic to control me."

"Well maybe he was planning on holding you for ransom," Steve suggested stubbornly.

"That doesn't make sense, he doesn't even need money and besides, no one would pay a ransom for me anyways," she told him, waving away the idea with one hand.

"I would." He told her quietly, bringing unexpected tears to her eyes.

"Steve, that's really sweet of you to say. But if you value me as a friend that much, then you'll trust me on this one. Loki never wanted Earth. He made a lot of bad decisions and he's trying to make up for them, but trying to take over our planet wasn't one of them." Avery said, her voice slightly choked.

"Well, if Loki was just acting as a servant of this Thanos guy, then why hasn't Thanos tried to finish what Loki started?" Steve asked.

"Because he wasn't after Earth, he was after the Tesseract. And since that's in Asgard now, I'm guessing that's where he plans to strike next." She answered.

"But even if all of this is true, and Loki really wasn't in his right mind when he tried to take over, he still did plenty of bad stuff even before leaving Asgard. Thor told me all about how Loki sent that monster after him in New Mexico so that he could take the throne and-" he started.

"Yeah, well, Thor probably neglected to mention the fact that Loki was lied to his entire life about who his real father was only to find out that he was actually the son of a Frost Giant. And to discover that after being raised on stories about how the Frost Giants were evil monsters that all deserved to be slaughtered, can you imagine what it did to him? Sure, he screwed up, but he never tried to kill Thor. He was just trying to delay his return to Asgard until he had proved to his adoptive father that he was just as good as Thor and not at all like his true family. And you have no idea how much he still regrets it." Avery told him, trying very hard to keep her voice calm but failing dismally.

Steve must have realized just how much his words had upset her, because he relented and his expression softened.

"Okay. Okay. So there's a lot I don't know about him. But how can you be sure you really love him?" he questioned.

"He makes me really happy, Steve." She said shakily, a small smile forming on her lips. "He makes me laugh and he doesn't mind all my sarcasm and my dumb jokes, which I can't say for many people. We have a lot in common but there's still so much I don't know about him, which means I never get bored of being with him. He's smart and thoughtful and I know it's a total cliché, but I feel like I can really be myself when I'm around him. And I've never felt this way before."

"I guess you really do love him, don't you?" Steve asked, resigned.

"Yeah, I do." She whispered.

"Well, I can't pretend that I'm thrilled that of all the guys in the world, it had to be him. But I trust you. And I want you to be happy." He told her, sounding weary but earnest.

"Thanks, Steve," she murmured, getting up and giving him a quick hug.

"Have you told him yet?" he asked as she pulled away.

"No. I think he knows, and I'm pretty sure he feels the same way, but we're both too scared to say it. And besides, I don't know how." Avery replied.

"When the time comes, you'll know." He told her, and from the wistful look in his eyes, she knew he was speaking from experience.

She nodded and gave him a grateful smile.

"So you're not mad?" she asked.

"I'm not mad. It's hard for me to imagine, because I don't know him the same way you do, but everyone deserves a second chance and I'm glad he's taking his because having someone like you will do him a world of good." Steve replied seriously.

He paused and then added,

"But if he ever does something to hurt you, I'm not letting him off easy."

"If he ever does something to hurt me, I give you full permission to beat him up. Just make sure you hit _him_ with your shield and not me." Avery told him, grinning.

"Will do." Steve replied, returning her grin.

He waited with her as her laundry went through the dryer and then departed so that he could hit the gym, leaving her to walk back to her apartment on her own. She felt considerably cheered up knowing that Steve, whose opinion she valued more than most, was okay with them being together. Now she just had to find a way to tell Loki all that she had told Steve.

Once back at her apartment, she carried her laundry basket into her bedroom and began folding her jumble of clothes. She turned on the radio, which helped to make the chore less boring, but also made it difficult to hear anything else and resulted in her letting out a yell of surprise at the unexpected presence of Loki in her doorway. He looked amused at this, but his smirk grew when he saw what she was holding.

_Fuck, not again_! Avery thought, panicking and throwing the black underwear she had been clutching as far away as she possibly could. Which was unfortunately not very far, and left it sitting in full view on the floor slightly to his left. She felt her face flushing darkly and resolved to never do laundry around men ever again.

"Subtle," Loki said dryly.

"We both know subtlety isn't exactly my forte," Avery replied, dashing over to pick up her underwear and hastily stuffing it into a random drawer.

He said nothing, just leaned against her doorframe, watching her as she attempted to shake off her embarrassment. However, if anything, it only made her more flustered once she got a good look at him. His hair was slightly disheveled and one errant lock had fallen across his forehead, contrasting with his pale skin. The shadows of the room enhanced his angular features, leaving her wondering what it would feel like to trace the sharp contours of his face. Blushing furiously, she tore her eyes away from him before her thoughts could become any more ridiculous.

"So, uh, when do you think you'll be able to go back to Asgard?" she asked to distract herself.

"Are you trying to get rid of me?" he replied, raising one perfectly shaped brow at her.

"No, I was just curious," she shrugged.

"I don't know when I'll return. Although I can't say I'm looking forward to the day I do," he said tightly.

"Why?" she blurted, then mentally kicked herself for asking such a stupid question.

"Because, Avery," he told her with a clenched jaw, "now everyone knows I'm a Frost Giant. Do you really think the Asgardians will put aside a millennia of prejudice for _me_?"

Avery said nothing, just watched him as he stood, his hands slowly forming fists.

"No, I was never loved in Asgard, but when I return, no one will even have to make a secret of their hatred toward me. For now they know my true parentage, I am certain they will never accept me." Loki said, his voice raw with barely suppressed torment.

"Loki, I'm sure once they realized that you've changed, they won't be so hard on you-" she began, her heart aching for him as he bowed his head, clutching at his hair in distress.

"Do not delude yourself, Avery. Who could honestly find it in their heart to accept _this_?" he asked, looking up at her with anguished red eyes.

She held back a gasp as his face faded to blue and strange, dark markings covered his skin. It was unnerving at first glimpse, but though his appearance had altered, she could still recognize him, knew that it was still Loki. She wanted to tell him that she would accept him no matter what he looked like, no matter what anyone else said, but the words wouldn't form. So she did the only other thing she could think of to quell his fears.

Crossing the room in a few short steps, she reached up and pulled his face down to hers, her palms stinging with cold, before pressing her lips to his. It burned at first, his mouth was so very frigid, but it gradually gave way to a pleasant warmth as his strong arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her against him. She tangled her fingers in his dark hair as their kiss became more insistent, reluctant to ever let him go. But finally, she broke away to murmur,

"I could."


	16. Chapter Sixteen

**A/N: **holy guacamole, I was blown away by your response to the last chapter! You guys are utterly amazing, seriously. I promise there will be more fluff in the future but I think you all knew it wasn't going to be that easy for them to get together, right? So here comes some angst.

You all are probably going to hate me for this chapter. My apologies in advance, because there is violence and if you are averse to that sort of thing, you may want to skip the last half. Also, regarding the character introduced toward the end, I'm not sure how accurate my portrayal is because I'm really just basing this off his scenes in _The Avengers_. So I hope it's not too horrible but if it is, I'm sorry!

Anyways, thanks so much for your continued support and please don't forget to review if you have a moment because I am much more inclined to update if I know you guys want me to! Cheers!

Beyond Good and Evil: Chapter Sixteen

Loki looked up at her with bated breath, attempting to mentally prepare himself for her inevitable display of abhorrence. She may have shown kindness and affection to him while he was in Aesir form, but that did not mean she would be impervious to fear at his true appearance. As he predicted, her eyes widened slightly at the blue chill rapidly spreading over his body, and he waited for her to scream or to look away or even to flee. She did none of these things.

Instead, she crossed the room to where he stood, and before he realized what she was doing, cupped his face in her warm hands and pulled his head down to hers. Her full, soft lips enveloped his own and he felt her shiver slightly from the cold. Still trying to comprehend what had possessed her to do such a thing, he quickly reverted back to his Aesir form before his frigid skin could burn her before finally regaining use of his senses and taking her into his arms. He felt her fingers weaving through his hair as their kiss became feverish and more insistent and pulled her against his chest, worried that she would fall out of her reverie if he did not hold her as closely as possible. Nevertheless, he felt her drawing away and opened his eyes anxiously, worried he had done something wrong.

"I could." Avery whispered.

Her cheeks were flushed and there were crystalline tears clinging to her dark lashes and at that moment, Loki couldn't imagine a sight more beautiful than her, looking up at him so lovingly he thought his heart might fracture because if it. The emotion was entirely foreign to him, but he welcomed it, allowing it to consume him as he ran one hand down the side of her face, struggling to articulate the utterly indescribable feelings coursing through him. Realizing the effort was futile, he abandoned it and instead pressed his lips to hers once more.

The fortress of sadness and resentment that he had been building up around himself ever since he was a just a young boy trying to win a word of praise from his parents was slowly coming down. He had felt it beginning to crumble with the first affectionate smile she had given him and now, with every kiss, another part of it fell away. He felt his tears mingling with hers and pulled back so just their foreheads were touching, allowing himself a moment to simply grasp that, despite all the mistakes he had made and all the pain he had caused, she still wanted to be with him.

It was almost too much to take in at once, and he was grateful when she let out a shaky laugh before saying,

"I never thought I'd say this, but I'm really glad I went to that stupid opera house in Stuttgart and that Steve gave me a concussion because if those things hadn't happened, I wouldn't be here with you right now."

Loki pushed a few locks of brown hair away from her face and brushed his lips against her temple. She tucked her head beneath his chin, her nose grazing the hollow of his throat. He smiled as she exhaled, her breath tickling his skin.

"I suppose I should thank the soldier's oafishness for ensuring that we would meet again," he said.

"Then you should thank Emma, too, she's the one that made me go to Stuttgart," she replied, her voice slightly muffled against his neck.

"I have yet to be introduced, but when I am, I'll be sure to express my gratitude," he told her.

"I'm sure you'll have a chance soon enough, she's been pestering me day and night about meeting you." Avery said.

"You told her about me?" he asked, surprised.

"Sort of. I may have omitted a few crucial details regarding your identity. But I did tell Steve that I had been spending a lot of time with you." She answered.

"And how did he react?" he questioned, slightly taken aback.

"Not so well at first. Once I explained the circumstances of your attack on Earth, he calmed down. He told me he supports us being together if it makes me happy. Which it does." Avery said, pulling back and smiling up at him.

"But he said if you ever hurt me, he's going to beat you up." She added.

"Considering how well that turned out last time, I'd be more concerned for your safety than mine," Loki told her dryly, giving an involuntary eye roll.

"That's pretty much what I told him," she laughed, "I doubt he'll ever hear the end of that one."

"It's doubtful," he agreed, "but that aside, I just remembered that I left two coffees on the kitchen table and they're getting colder with every second."

"They can wait one more," Avery told him.

She leaned in and pressed her lips to the side of his neck, trailing achingly light kisses up to his lips before finally enveloping his mouth with hers, leaving him feeling extremely warm all over. By the time she pulled away again, he had all but forgotten the damned coffee, but she hadn't, and lead him out of her bedroom and into the kitchen by one hand. They sat across from one another in contented silence, sipping their lukewarm drinks and occasionally smiling at nothing in particular when their eyes met.

Loki hadn't felt so euphoric in a very long time and wished that he could do nothing but bask in his happiness with Avery by his side. But he knew that was impossible while he still had so many matters to attend to in Asgard. And now that he was certain of her forgiveness, he knew it was time to return and make amends with those that he could.

He drained the last few sips of his coffee and pushed the cup aside, looking at Avery carefully. It was going to be incredibly difficult to tell her that, despite their newfound happiness together, he now had to leave her for an indefinite amount of time. So he decided to take the cowardly way out, hating himself for it already.

"I just realized I left your book at my quarters. Would you excuse me while I go and fetch it?" Loki asked, torn between being relieved and appalled that lies still came so easily to him.

"Oh, okay! Sure! I'll be right here," Avery said cheerfully.

His heart ached at the sight of her pretty smile and bright, happy eyes. He looked away and stood up, fighting the urge to glance at her again before departing. After finding himself back in his room, he quickly located a sheet of paper and a pen and sat down to write her a short explanation for his absence.

_Dear Avery,_

He began, unsure of what to say that would excuse his impending actions. Knowing nothing truly could, he continued to write. When he finished, he reread what he had inscribed, feeling disgusted with himself.

_Dear Avery,_

_By the time you read this, I will have returned to Asgard. I have many matters to attend to there, and though my departure seems hasty, I have already delayed it much too long. Not that I regret it; I am very glad I stayed in your company as long as I did and I wish to thank you for the endless hospitality you showed me. But now I must make amends for the actions that lead me here to begin with._

_I am truly sorry for lying to you and leaving you without a proper farewell. It is selfish of me, but know that I am not abandoning you without saying goodbye to hurt you but rather because every moment I spend with you makes it harder for me to leave. I had to depart while I was still capable of it, though I regret it more than words can express. I do not know when I will be back, but I promise you that I will return to you as soon as I can. _

_Yours,_

_Loki_

Steeling himself, he sent the letter to her apartment, along with her beloved Harry Potter book, hoping both made their way to her kitchen table as he had intended them to. Then he traded in his current attire for his traditional Asgardian garb, the familiar presence of his pronged helm giving him a small measure of reassurance, and departed the apartment. He closed his eyes as he was carried throughout space and time, tears forming from the sheer velocity at which he was traveling, and then opened them as soon as he felt solid ground beneath his feet.

Expecting to see the iridescent remains of the Bifrost glimmering in the eternally golden light of Asgard, he was startled to find himself in a much darker location, standing atop a slight hill made up of black, uneven rocks. As his disorientation faded away, his heart filled with dread as he began to recognize the barren landscape. Panic rising in his chest, he tried desperately to summon the magic necessary to flee to another realm, but met invisible barriers with every attempt. A deep, ominous laugh reached his ears and he suddenly knew that any effort to escape would be futile.

"Did you really think I would let you go so easily, Loki Laufeyson?" Thanos asked, a trace of sinister humor evident in his low voice.

Loki forced himself to turn and face the dark, monstrous form that sat watching him.

"Did I not tell you that ill would befall you if you failed to bring me the Tesseract?" Thanos continued, raising up to his full, colossal height.

Loki said nothing, his mind working furiously to devise some way to evade him.

"And here you are, with no Tesseract in sight." Thanos went on, traversing the steps from his crude throne down towards Loki.

"You may have broken my hold on you, but that is of no matter to me. I no longer need you. I have simply brought you here to show you that I did not take my promise lightly. You have failed me, and now you _will_ suffer." He finished, seizing Loki by the collar and then throwing him backwards unceremoniously.

Loki flew several feet into the air before landing hard on his back, temporarily losing his ability to breath as a sharp pain shot through his upper body. He tried to raise himself up and let out a gasp as his ribs seemed to scream in protest. Gritting his teeth, he found his footing and once more tried to conjure up enough magic to send himself to another realm or at least to ward off Thanos until he was able to heal himself. It refused to come to him, somehow choked by invisible defenses.

"So you have returned the Tesseract to Asgard. A pity you won't be able to join me when I go to retrieve it; I am sure you would have enjoyed seeing Thor and the Allfather slain." Thanos said.

"You'll never get the Tesseract." Loki ground out, clutching his side with one hand trying to assess the damage that the fall had inflicted upon him.

"And why is that?" Thanos asked, leering at him dangerously.

"You don't know how to travel between realms. That's why you needed me to go to Midgard for you. And considering your universal unpopularity, I doubt you'll have many volunteers lining up to take my place." Loki answered, smirking slightly at the enraged expression his words produced.

Though it was a dangerous play to infuriate Thanos, Loki's response seemed to give him some pause.

"I have my Chitauri," Thanos snarled finally.

"Ah yes, your fearsome Chitauri. Do you really think the Allfather has survived several millennia of battles just to be defeated by that anarchic mass?" Loki asked skeptically.

"I will not tolerate your insolence, you pathetic bastard son of a Frost Giant! You know nothing!" Thanos yelled, flinging out one gigantic arm and delivering a crushing blow to the side of Loki's head.

He collapsed onto the ground, feeling several of his ribs splinter, the point of a rock tearing open his forehead as he landed. Raising one hand to the ear that Thanos had struck, he pulled it away to find it covered in hot blood.

"When I first found you, you would have been glad to hear that I planned to obliterate the Asgardians that shunned you, who allowed you to fall from the bridge! And now look at you, defying me with your newfound self-righteousness!" Thanos spat, the sound of his voice sounding far away, as if he spoke from a great distance.

Loki's skull was thrummed with pain as he struggled to retaliate.

"And now that you have found some foolish mortal to accept you, you think that you can redeem yourself. But you are wrong. She is naïve to think that her love can save you. I have seen your heart, seen the darkness and hatred that dwells within it. It is far too late to change who you are. That is what lead you to me and that is what will destroy you." Thanos told him.

"And once I've killed you, I will find a way to this mortal girl of yours and I will demonstrate to her just how much you suffered before I finally allowed you to die. Would you like to see what I will do to her?" Thanos asked.

Before Loki could say anything, his mind was flooded with a series of horrific images. Avery laying beside him on the uneven ground, her limbs at odd angles and tears seeping from her unfocused eyes. Her broken, bloody hand stretching toward his but unable to reach. Thanos slowly crushing the life out of her as he screamed, unable to do anything but watch as she crumbled in the monster's grip.

"No!" Loki yelled, trying desperately to rid himself of the horribly realistic illusions.

"But before I find her, I will teach you the meaning of pain," Thanos hissed, drawing a lethal dagger and coming to kneel beside Loki.

He paused for a moment and Loki lay there, breathing as shallowly as possible to as not to further agitate his shattered ribs, and then Thanos slammed the knife into his upper left leg. Loki screamed in agony as the blade went through his layers of armor and skin before embedding itself in bone. Thanos pulled the dagger back out, sending a jolt of white-hot pain through Loki's thigh, and tossed it aside, preparing for some other means of inflicting torture. But what he planned to do next, Loki never found out, for he was blinded by a flash of ultramarine light that seemed strangely familiar.

And then everything went black.

**A/N 2: **so I don't know if you guys had forgotten about Thanos but he did promise in _The Avengers_ that, if Loki failed, he would make him "long for something as sweet as pain." And it didn't seem right to just leave it at Loki escaping his possession, having a dandy time on Earth, and then going back to Asgard without any complications. I think one of the hazards of travelling without something as direct as the Bifrost would be that you would have the possibility of being pulled into other realms, and I think Thanos is powerful enough that he could have brought Loki to him in that manner. So I hope you guys don't hate me too much for it, but please review anyways because I don't like to leave you with these cliffhangers for long!


	17. Chapter Seventeen

**A/N: **I'm very sorry about the cliffhanger I left you all with! I'm also sorry that there was a bit of a wait for this chapter, it was kind of difficult for me to write and I couldn't decide how to approach it because I considered writing another from Loki's perspective, but I had to give myself a break from writing about him in pain because it hurts my heart too much.

As far as this chapter, there is more angst. I'm quite sorry about it, and I know we're all eager to get back to some fluff, but I felt the need to balance all of that out. Thank you for sticking with me despite all the sadness! You all are amazing and I am incredibly grateful for your continued support. Now, onto chapter seventeen! As always, any sort of feedback is greatly encouraged and very much appreciated! Cheers!

Beyond Good and Evil: Chapter Seventeen

Avery had spent most of her life wishing that she was happier, longing for the careless euphoria she saw in the faces of her friends and classmates but that had always evaded her. And now, having experienced such happiness only to have it prematurely taken away from her, she almost wished she had never felt it at all. Maybe then Loki's departure wouldn't have hurt so much and maybe she wouldn't have been sitting at her kitchen table at three in the morning, her eyelashes stiff with dried tears, as she reread his letter for the hundredth time.

_Yours,_

_Loki._

The words blurred at the edges as she stared at them, her shoulders trembling with suppressed sobs. It wasn't just that he had left without saying goodbye that was so hard to reconcile with, it was that he had returned to a place where she could not follow him. And that she didn't know when he would return, if he ever did. She didn't know what to do. So, despite the fact that it was three A.M and her voice was raw from crying, she called Emma.

After several long moments, she answered, her tone a mixture of weariness and worry.

"Avery, is everything okay?" Emma asked, skipping any sort of customary greeting.

"No, not really," Avery replied, cringing at how small and pathetic she sounded.

"What's wrong?" Emma questioned.

"You know the guy I told you about? I need to tell you who he really is." Avery told her.

"Okay? Is he why you're upset? Do you need me to beat him up?" Emma asked.

"No, but I need you to promise me that you won't interrupt or freak out as I'm telling you about him. Okay?" Avery asked.

"If you need to ask me to promise something like that, it must be pretty serious and I really can't make a promise if I'm not sure I can keep it," Emma said.

"Okay, fine. Just…try not to lose it, please?" Avery pleaded.

"I'll try." Emma assured her.

"Thanks. Okay…so, you know that guy from Stuttgart?" Avery asked.

"The homicidal Lucius Malfoy lookalike? Yeah, of course," Emma replied.

"He doesn't look like-" Avery started indignantly, then stopped herself. "Yes, that's the one," she finished.

"What does he have to do with it?" Emma asked.

"Um, well, the thing is…" Avery began nervously before forgoing caution and launching into the full story of everything that had transpired from Loki's first appearance in her life up until the present moment.

Emma was surprisingly silent and strangely didn't question the truth of any part of Avery's story. Which seemed like a good sign. Until Emma asked, in the deathly calm voice that Avery had learned to associate with Emma's utmost displeasure,

"So you're telling me you believe this bullshit tale he fed you about being possessed and you think he's your _boyfriend_ now?"

Avery swallowed with some difficulty, taking a sip of water as she formulated her response.

"It's not a bullshit tale, and yes, I do believe him. I don't know what we are, exactly, but he's gone. And I don't know if he's coming back." She said quietly.

"Well, I hope he doesn't." Emma said bluntly.

"I know you don't believe him and-" Avery started.

"I don't even care what his reason was for doing it, all I care about is the fact that he could have killed both of us! And I find it absolutely ridiculous that you've forgotten that so soon!" Emma yelled, her even temper finally breaking.

"But he didn't kill either of us, Emma, and if he had been in his right mind at the time, neither of us would have been in danger anyways." Avery said forcefully.

"You have no way of knowing that story is true! And you didn't even know about it when you invited him into your home to have _dinner._ What the fuck is wrong with you, Avery? You should have called the cops, not fucking cooked him some pasta!" Emma replied, her voice steadily raising to the point of hysteria.

"He's a God, Emma! Do you really think the cops would have been able to do anything to stop him if he had wanted to hurt me?" Avery demanded.

"Oh, right, he's a _God_. So what the hell is he doing, hanging around with you in the same city he just tried to destroy?" Emma asked.

"I don't know why he found me again, he just did. And anyways, that's not what's important right now, what's important is the fact that he just left-" Avery told her, but was cut off.

"That is not what's important right now. What's important is that you've been sheltering a criminal, a criminal responsible for the deaths of over eighty innocent lives. And instead of taking a moment to fucking think about the fact that your new boyfriend is a murdering lunatic, you're crying over him leaving you without saying goodbye. How selfish _are_ you?" Emma asked, disbelieving.

"Did you not hear the part where none of that was his fault?" Avery asked furiously, wondering why she had thought it was a good idea to call Emma in the first place.

"I can't believe you fell for that crap! I always knew you had a sentimental streak for the bad guy in books and movies, but I thought you would have had the sense to draw a line when it came to real life, Avery." Emma told her.

"He's not the bad guy. You don't even know him, so maybe you should quit the judgmental tone." Avery said.

"Oh, am I being judgmental? Well, I'm really fucking sorry but if you called me up at three in the morning to tell me you've been seeing the crazy asshole who tried to take over Earth and then expect me to be sympathetic about the fact that he went back to his own goddamn planet, forget it. I'm not going to be sorry about the fact that he's gone." Emma replied.

"You're not sorry about the fact that I finally found someone who really understands me, who knows what it's like to be least loved in your family and to be rejected by them, only for him to leave again?" Avery asked.

"I've listened to every complaint you've ever had about your family and how they ruined your chance at ever having decent relationships and instead of appreciating the friendships you do have, you decide you want to be with some maniac who nearly killed both of us? What the hell is wrong with you?" Emma answered, sounding as though she was now on the verge of tears as well.

"I _do_ appreciate the friendships I have, but do you know how hard it is to know your own family hates you? Of course you don't! You were raised by parents who adore you and have never hesitated to tell you that and you can't possibly understand what it feels like to be despised by the ones who are supposed to love you the most! But Loki knows what that's like, Emma, and I'm sorry if you feel like I'm choosing him over you or something but I love him and for once I feel like someone really loves me, too. And I won't apologize for wanting to be with someone who makes me as happy as he does." Avery said vehemently.

"Do you really think that being with someone with just as many issues as you is a good thing? Is that what you want, someone to commiserate with, or someone who will help you get over the fact that your family will never love you and that you deserve better than them anyways? Because that's what I've been trying to do for four years and I'm just now realizing that you don't want to get over it, you want to keep their rejection of you close so that you always have something to blame for your problems. I want you to be happy more than anyone, Avery, but I don't think that being with him is going to make you very happy at all in the long run." Emma told her, her voice softening slightly.

"Well, he's gone. And he may never come back. So maybe there's no need to worry about what will be good for me in the long run." Avery whispered, a film of fresh tears blurring her vision.

"If you're asking me to feel sorry for you right now, I can't. He nearly destroyed our home, and he used you to somehow reassure himself that he was still capable of being loved and now that he knows he is, he's going back to his family because he needs them more than he needs you. And I know you don't want to see it that way, but that's how it is and the sooner you accept that the better." Emma said, her voice suddenly gentle but unable to soften her words.

Avery ended the call without another word. She knew that it was childish but she was too sad and tired to really care. And the longer she stayed on the phone, the more she began to think that maybe Emma was right.

She couldn't remember a time in her life when she had felt more alone. And with nothing else to do and no tears left to shed, she dragged herself to her room and crawled into bed. Her heart ached and the pain threatened to keep her awake, but the curious weariness that came with hours of crying won out, and she finally fell into a fitful slumber.

When at last she rose from her cocoon of blankets and used tissues the next morning, she was startled to see it was nearly two in the afternoon. It was just as well, really, for it wasn't as though she had anywhere to be and the longer she stayed asleep, the longer she delayed the sharp pain that came with realizing Loki was gone. And as it coursed through her, clutching at her chest and tightening her throat, she considered going back to bed just to forget it for a few hours more.

Gritting her teeth, she put the thought aside and stumbled into the bathroom, letting out a groan of displeasure as she spied her own reflection. Her hair was a tangled mess and her eyes were shot with red, sore and puffy around the edges. Quickly shedding her rumpled clothes, she got into the shower and stayed within the warm sanctuary for as long as she possibly could, feeling considerably calmer once she stepped out into the cooler air. She dressed and combed her hair, putting much more thought into the menial tasks than she normally would to distract herself from any more despondent thoughts.

She was startled out of her concentration by a loud knock at the door and raced to answer it, for a moment deluding herself into thinking that maybe Loki had returned before realizing he had never thought much of knocking before entering. Taking a deep breath, she pulled the door open and was stunned into silence.

Thor stood in the hallway, in full Asgardian regalia, clutching the same cerulean casket he had used to depart from Central Park with Loki several weeks previously. He looked at her inquiringly, and she struggled to form some sort of greeting. Before she could, he took a step forward, and asked,

"Are you the Lady Avery acquainted with my brother, Loki?"

"Um, yeah, I am. And you're Thor?" Avery replied, wondering what had brought him to her apartment.

"Verily," Thor confirmed, "and I am here to take you to Asgard, where your presence has been requested by my brother."

Her heart leapt, before realizing how strange it was that Thor had come for her and not Loki.

"Have I done something wrong?" Avery asked, perplexed.

"Loki is greatly injured and he has reason to believe that you may be in danger if you remain here in Midgard, unprotected. He wishes to see you and I believe some of his discomfort would ease if he knew you were safe." Thor told her solemnly.

"What happened?" she choked out, feeling short of breath as she struggled to comprehend Thor's words.

"Thanos abducted him and punished him for his failure to capture the Tesseract. With the help of Heimdall, the Allfather and myself found him before Thanos dealt the final blow but not before great damage was inflicted upon him. He has slipped in and out of consciousness since we returned him to Asgard, but his only concern seems to be for you." Thor continued, looking at her somewhat questioningly.

"Okay, okay, hang on, just let me grab some stuff and then we can go," Avery said anxiously, trying with all of her strength not to dwell on Loki's condition and instead putting all of her effort into quickly collecting some clothes and toiletries in her backpack.

As a last thought, she tucked a package of Starbucks coffee beans in with the rest of the items and then ran back to where Thor was waiting.

"Ready," she said, taking the end of the casket he offered to her.

And in a flash of bright blue light, they departed.


	18. Chapter Eighteen

**A/N: **firstly, I would like to apologize for the delay in updating this story. I was out of town for a week and didn't get to start working on this chapter until I was back home. Thank you all for your reviews and encouragement and I hope this chapter is worth your wait! It's not too long and it's another one from Avery's perspective because Loki isn't fully conscious at the moment but the next chapter will be much longer and will have a lot more Loki, so please bear with me!

I hope you guys aren't too upset with Emma; I know she seemed quite terrible in the last chapter, but let's remember that she doesn't know Loki in the same way Avery does and you can't exactly expect her to be overjoyed that Avery's cavorting with someone she considers to be evil. I hope I did a decent job of balancing out their argument, because I honestly don't think either of them was truly "right," and that you can sort of see where Emma was coming from. Because as much as I love Loki, even I have to admit that he has done some pretty bad things even when he wasn't under the influence of Thanos. So, I guess that was just my way of leveling how Avery sees him, which is bound to be a biased view considering she's in love with him, with how the rest of the world sees him, which might be a harsher view than he deserves but isn't entirely unfounded.

Thirdly, there have been some reviews asking whether or not I plan on writing that Cap/OC story I mentioned a while back. I certainly would still like to, but I am determined to complete this story before starting any others. Anyways, here is chapter eighteen, I hope you all enjoy it and please let me know what you think if you have the time! Cheers!

Beyond Good and Evil: Chapter Eighteen

When the brilliant cerulean light faded and Avery felt it was safe to open her eyes, she found herself standing on a prismatic bridge stretching out over a vast ocean. As her vision slowly attuned to the strange, golden twilight, she turned to see where the water lead and saw that the fractured bridge ended abruptly over a grand yet oddly quiet waterfall, which cascaded into the black silence of space.

Her breath caught in her chest as she imagined Loki falling into the seemingly endless abyss.

Tearing her eyes away from the chasm, she turned back towards Asgard and let out an involuntary gasp at the sight that greeted her. A city comprised of gilded halls rose up from the water, interspersed with lush greens indicating fields and forests. The backdrop was almost more stunning than the metropolis itself, an expanse of golden sky shot through with dusky pinks and tinged with the fiery orange glow of a setting sun, reflecting its radiance onto the dark ocean.

"Beautiful, is it not?" Thor asked, briefly startling her out of her reverie.

She had quite forgotten that he stood next to her, and gave him a brief smile, dazed by the sheer majesty of his home. Some of the worry inscribed on his features eased away for a moment as they silently gazed out over Asgard and she had the impression that, despite having lived there for so many years, it was a view that he had never taken for granted. As she ruminated over this, she remembered her reason for being there, and berated herself for wasting time sightseeing when Loki was hurt and could have become worse since Thor had left to bring her to him.

"Where is he?" Avery asked, not bothering to keep the worry from her voice.

"The Rooms of Healing. It will be quickest to fly," Thor replied.

He stepped toward her and she looked at him questioningly.

"If you would hold onto me," he clarified, mild discomfort evident in his tone.

She nodded and wordlessly wrapped her arms around his massive torso, trying to put aside her unease at their closeness and failing. Before she had time to feel any more embarrassed, they shot into the air, leaving her clutching him more tightly than was comfortable. Unaccustomed to this form of transportation, she kept her eyes shut for fear of suddenly developing a phobia of heights and was relieved when they landed back on solid ground.

Avery disentangled herself from Thor gratefully, noticing the immediate look of relief that crossed his face. She quickly surveyed their surroundings. They were standing in a large, airy space that held a great number of beds, for the most part unoccupied but occasionally employed by a citizen of Asgard being tended to by one of the quiet, determined healers flitting about the room. And in the very center stood two silent figures that she immediately recognized despite having no former knowledge of their appearances. After a moment of hesitation, she recalled the action that Loki had enforced upon the crowd in Stuttgart and figured that kneeling was the most appropriate gesture in the presence of Loki's adoptive parents.

"You may rise, Avery of Midgard," Odin said, gazing down at her.

She might have smiled at the anachronism had the circumstances been different, but her stomach was now so twisted with worry for Loki that she could barely focus on anything else. Painfully aware of how ridiculous she must look to them, with her plain attire and backpack still slung over her shoulders, she rose to her feet and looked steadily at the grey-haired man who stood before her, trying desperately to disguise the contempt she felt for him. She knew that displaying her animosity towards Odin was unwise, and hoped that she concealed it well enough, but could not stifle the anger that she felt upon seeing the one responsible for so much of Loki's suffering.

"How is it that you have become acquainted with my son?" Odin asked.

"We met in Germany during his assault on Earth. Although I suppose 'met' is a bit too civilized of a word for how we first became acquainted. We had several more encounters during his attempt to take over my planet and then, after he had been gone for several days, he reappeared in my city and began visiting me nearly every day." Avery replied, giving him only the most concise version of what had happened until she learned why he wanted to know.

"And were you afraid of him?" Odin asked, his expression unreadable.

"At first, yes. But after he visited a few times, I got used to him, I guess. And I realized that the evil, megalomaniacal image he had been projecting wasn't really who he was at all." She responded, with unusual brevity.

"And he never hurt you?" Odin persisted.

"No." Avery replied bluntly.

_Not physically, at least_, she thought but quickly pushed the self-pitying remark aside.

"He explained his reason for returning to Midgard, did he not?" Odin questioned.

Avery faltered, searching her memory for the answer.

"He told me he was banished until he could learn compassion for others and repent for his actions." She said eventually, before adding uncertainly, "was that true?"

"Verily. Yet I see he did not tell you the exact terms of his banishment. He was to remain in your realm until he gained the forgiveness of one that had suffered as a result of his attempt to rule Midgard. I gather that you are the mortal who granted him this absolution?" Odin asked.

For a moment, Avery was stunned into silence. So Emma _had _been right, even though she may not have known it at the time. Loki had been using her as some means of proving to himself that he was not only capable of compassion but worthy of receiving it as well. And that's why he had left as soon as he had been utterly certain of her devotion to him.

But, if that was all she was to him, why then had he requested that she be brought to him in Asgard when he could have so easily permanently abandoned her?

"I suppose I am," Avery said quietly.

"And do you still forgive him for what he has done, knowing that he sought you out as a means to end his banishment?" Odin questioned.

"Yes." Avery replied immediately, before she could even think about her response.

The slight look of surprise on both Odin and Frigga's faces urged her to continue.

"Well, he had to find someone to help him end his banishment, didn't he? It didn't really matter who it was, but he probably figured I was the most likely candidate since we already sort of knew each other and because he healed an injury that I sustained in Stuttgart. I was kind of obligated to him because of that, really. I'm sure he just planned on being nice to me for as long as was required to win my favor, but that's not really how it happened. He probably could have devised a quicker way of getting me to forgive him, but instead he chose to wear me down by spending nearly every day with me. And after spending all that time with him, I really started to enjoy his company instead of just tolerating it. It may seem strange since I've known him for less than two months, but I feel like he knows me better than anyone else. And even though I never would have thought it possible if someone had told me this would happen after we first met…I know that I love him." Avery finished, her face flushing slightly as she realized what she had just admitted.

Odin's face was a cryptic mask but Frigga's was filled with such hope and happiness that Avery felt her breath catch as she experienced a rush of gratitude toward the woman and her obvious display of love and gladness for her son.

"And with all due respect, I would really like to see him now, please," Avery added, hoping that her request was not construed as impolite.

"He is asleep now, but you are welcome to visit with him," Frigga told her kindly, dismissing her husband's stoicism.

"Thank you," Avery replied gratefully, managing a small smile.

She followed Frigga towards an ornate set of doors at the back of the room, nodding her thanks at the guards who pulled them open, vaguely aware of the following footsteps of Odin and Thor. They entered into a small yet high-ceilinged chamber perfumed with a curious herbal scent and bordered by tall windows that offered a view of the ocean and the darkened, starry skies beyond. In the very middle of the room was a long, white-covered bed occupied by a familiar figure whose skin nearly matched the color of his blankets.

Unable to restrain herself, Avery set down her backpack and ran towards him, stopping abruptly as she caught sight of his marred countenance. An unwilling gasp of horror escaped her lips as she took in the catalogue of wounds inflicted upon his body, her knees growing weak as she forced herself to refrain from averting her eyes. He was so very still, the slight rise and fall of his chest beneath the covers the only indication that he was still alive. His inky hair had mostly been pushed back away from his face to reveal a deep gash on his forehead that contrasted sharply with his pale complexion. The rest of his skin bore a collection of dark bruises and lacerations while one of his ears was covered in a stiff white bandage stained with blood. And then she realized that his worst injuries were probably invisible to her and was thankful that he had been able to escape the pain for a time as he slumbered.

She choked back an unanticipated sob and sank to her knees beside his bed, wanting very badly to take his slender hands into hers but not wishing to disturb his temporary respite from agony.

"Is there anything you can do to help him?" Avery asked, turning to look at the solemn assembly behind her.

"We have done all we can for now. Our healers have done the best they can, but they are not skilled magicians as Loki is. There are very few as accomplished as he. And those that are as powerful are selfish and evasive. They will not waste their talents and strength on what they deem to be an unworthy cause." Thor replied bitterly.

"But you're the most powerful in this realm, aren't you? Can't you force them to help Loki?" she demanded stubbornly.

"Magic that is performed against the wishes of the magician would have very ill consequences. And we may have need of them in the future, so it would not do to set them against us. Loki will regain enough of his strength to heal himself in time. Until then, we must wait and do our best to ease his suffering." Frigga told her sadly, kneeling next to her at Loki's bedside.

She reached out and pushed one stray lock of dark hair away from Loki's face, the tenderness of the gesture prompting a fresh wave of tears in Avery's eyes. Biting her lip, she once more fought the uncontrollable urge to take his hand and instead focused on the reassuring rise and fall of his chest, the slight part of his perfectly curved lips to allow low exhalations, the soft murmur of his breathing. Frigga seemed to notice her struggle and gave her a melancholy smile.

"I think he would be very glad to know that you were here with him," she said quietly, before standing and ushering everyone else out of the room.

Perhaps it was selfish to pull him from the haven of sleep, but Avery couldn't help herself any longer. She raised a trembling hand and lightly caressed his brow, trailing her fingers down to his chest and resting her palm over his heart. Even through his dark green tunic, he was cold, as he had been in Jotun form and she swallowed hard, thinking back to the day before, when she had kissed his frigid lips and held him close.

It felt like so long ago.

Suddenly, his eyes fluttered open, clouded by slumber and he looked at her for a moment before truly recognizing her. Her heart leaped as their gaze met and some of the tension in his brow eased away. He attempted to raise himself up by his hands but she gently pushed him back down upon the pillows, not wanting him to put himself in pain unnecessarily.

"You came," Loki whispered, looking up at her with something akin to astonishment.

"Of course I did." Avery said, brushing away her tears and smiling in what she hoped was a reassuring way as she intertwined her fingers with his.

"I'm sorry…" he murmured, his eyelids slowly obscuring his viridian gaze.

"Don't be sorry for anything," she told him, lifting one of his cold hands to her mouth and pressing a kiss to his knuckles.

And then, even though he had fallen back into slumber and would not hear her, she whispered the only words that could adequately convey what she felt for him.

"I love you, Loki Laufeyson."


	19. Chapter Nineteen

**A/N: **oh my gosh, I feel so bad about how many reviews I received last chapter informing me that I made you all cry! Although I have to admit, that was kind of what I was going for. But I feel guilty for making everyone sad, so now we are going to start patching things up and moving toward the end of this story because there are only about four chapters left.

Sorry this one took me so long! It took a while for me to figure out how to write it. Honestly, I'm trying to draw it out as long as possible because I know I'll miss writing this story a lot but luckily, a plot idea has come to me for the Captain America fic so I can start writing that almost immediately afterward.

So, thank you all so much for all of your encouragement so far, you're the best! I hope you enjoy this chapter and that you don't mind the copious amounts of fluff after all that angst! Please remember to leave a review if you have the time because that will result in faster updates! Cheers!

Beyond Good and Evil: Chapter Nineteen

A soft chorus of voices awoke him from his haven of slumber, agony coursing throughout his body as he regained consciousness. He opened his eyes carefully, allowing them to adjust to the brightness of the room, before turning his head in the direction of the murmurs. An involuntary gasp escaped his lips as the movement triggered a stab of pain in his forehead, and he watched as two familiar faces slowly came into focus.

"Loki! You're awake!" Avery exclaimed, a smile breaking over her tired, worried features.

"How do you feel?" Thor asked, his brow furrowed with concern.

"…I've been better," Loki replied with some difficulty, his voice raspy from disuse.

"You gave us all quite a scare, brother," Thor said, relief washing over his face.

"You, the mighty Thor, scared? I can hardly believe it," Loki scoffed, smiling slightly.

"It was a figure of speech, brother. You know that I don't get scared," Thor replied, chuckling slightly.

"Ah, yes. I've just remembered that you are impervious to both fear and nervousness," Loki said dryly, raising on eyebrow slightly at the absurdity of the statement.

"Even if I wasn't, I'd have no need for either right now as you are clearly well on your way to recovery," Thor told him, and then turned to Avery with an exasperated look on his face. "We could always tell if something was wrong with my brother if he _wasn't _poking fun at everyone around him."

Loki rolled his eyes and turned to Avery, who was laughing slightly at Thor's remark. His breath hitched unexpectedly as he was reminded of just how beautiful she was, especially when she looked this happy. She caught his gaze and bit her lip, as if she wanted to say something but was too shy. Thor seemed to notice their wordless exchange and, with uncharacteristic tact, stood and made to leave the room.

"Well, brother, it gladdens me to see you are on the mend but I have just remembered that I have a matter of great importance to attend to," he announced, displaying his ineptitude for subtlety.

"Oh, really? And what might that be?" Loki questioned, trying to disguise his smile and failing dismally.

"Erm…polishing my helmet," Thor replied, blushing slightly and inclining his head toward Avery, "Lady Avery," he added, before hastily exiting the room.

"Polishing his helmet indeed," Loki muttered, watching him go.

"Well, he's not the God of Lies, you can't expect him to have a good excuse at the ready," Avery reasoned, an amused expression on her face.

"When we were boys and caused trouble that neither of us wished to be blamed for, I was always the one that had to spin some tale to get us out of it because if I left it to Thor, we were done for." Loki told her, smiling slightly.

"I can imagine," she replied, reaching down and picking a mug off the floor. "I brought coffee. It's gone all cold but I figured you probably had some way of heating it up with magic or something."

"Thank you," he said quietly, a pleasant and familiar warmth spreading through his chest at the gesture.

He made to sit up and then remembered that his ribs and back were still in a state of disrepair and that even the slightest motion could produce an undesired onslaught of pain.

"Are you okay?" Avery asked worriedly, seeing his troubled expression.

"I must attempt to heal my ribs with what energy I have now. But I should warn you that it may cause me lose consciousness," he replied.

"Can I help?" she questioned, setting the mug back down and looking at him anxiously.

"You are helping simply by being here," he told her, offering a small smile before preparing to mend his injuries.

After conjuring a sufficient amount of magic, he placed a hand over the broken ribs and channeled all of his energy into moving them back into place. A gasp escaped his lips as they began to shift and as the fractured bones realigned, it became a scream of agony that forced him to squeeze his eyes shut and grit his teeth as the spell completed itself. When he was sure it was over, he allowed himself a moment of rest and then looked back at Avery, who wore an expression of such distress that it was almost comical.

"Much better," he sighed, slowly easing himself into a sitting position. "Are you well? You look quite pale," he added, watching her.

"You're not really one to talk," Avery retorted, picking the coffee back up and handing it to him.

"Fair enough," Loki conceded, heating the drink back up with a simple spell.

"Cream?" she asked, offering a small silver pitcher.

He murmured his thanks and took it from her, pouring a generous amount into his cup and watching as it unfurled like smoke in the dark beverage.

"I'm curious, how did you manage to make this in Asgard? Surely we don't have any of the machines you use in Midgard for brewing it," he said, taking a sip.

"I put the grounds in a piece of cloth which acted as a filter and poured hot water over them so the coffee dripped into a pitcher. It's not the best I've ever made, but I had to improvise under the circumstances," she replied, shrugging.

"Well, it's very good. Thank you," Loki told her sincerely.

"You're welcome." Avery smiled.

He hesitated for a moment and then took a deep breath.

"Avery, I must apologize for leaving you. It was cruel of me to go without so much as a goodbye and I-" he was cut off as she shook her head, silencing him.

"No, please don't be sorry. I understand why you did it. And we're both here now, so it doesn't matter. I'm just so relieved that you're okay." She told him, her voice breaking unexpectedly on the last word as a solitary tear slipped down her cheek.

She made to wipe it away, looking annoyed at herself, but he did it for her, caressing her cheek with one hand and brushing a stray lock of brown hair back behind her ear.

"How do you like Asgard so far?" Loki asked, attempting to divert her attention.

"It's beautiful," she said, looking grateful for the change of subject, "although I've seen very little of it. Thor gave me a small tour earlier today, but I was still too worried about you to really appreciate it."

"I would be glad to show it to you myself," he told her, "for there are many places I would like you to see that Thor is not aware of."

"Oh, like secret hideouts?" she questioned, intrigued.

"Precisely." He replied, smiling.

"That sounds cool," she grinned, looking significantly happier than she had just moments before.

There was a moment of comfortable silence as he took another sip of coffee and she absently took his free hand and intertwined her fingers with his.

"What do you think of him?" Loki asked, unable to contain his curiosity.

"Thor?" Avery clarified, raising her eyebrows.

Loki nodded.

"I don't know him very well, really. I've only been here two days. But I like him. He's really sweet, and funny – although sometimes I'm not sure that's intentional. Why do you ask?" she said, watching him carefully.

"No reason," he replied shortly, attempting to keep the slight jealousy out of his tone and not entirely succeeding.

She grinned, as if noticing his childlike resentment at her description of Thor and added,

"But he's nowhere as funny or talented or handsome as you are."

He scoffed, giving her a disbelieving look.

"Oh, indeed? You don't find his rippling muscles and wavy golden hair appealing?" he asked dryly.

"Actually, I've always preferred the slim, darker-haired guys," Avery said loftily, "especially the ones with occasionally blue skin."

"Is that so?" he questioned, raising his eyebrows and reaching over to place his mug on the floor.

She nodded, reaching up and brushing a lock of hair off his forehead before pressing her lips to his with remarkable tenderness, as if she was afraid of hurting him. He kissed her back softly at first before cupping her face with one hand and bringing her closer, ignoring the twinge of pain in his forehead from the movement. Realizing that the distance between them was making it very difficult to properly kiss her, he pulled back and, with unanticipated deftness, drew her into the bed beside him.

There was a brief pause as they readjusted themselves and then her soft, full lips were back on his for a long moment before moving to the corner of his mouth and then further down to his jaw. He closed his eyes and allowed his head to fall back against the bed end as she placed a gentle kiss in the particularly sensitive spot just below his ear. As the very tip of her tongue began to caress that same spot, he let out a nearly inaudible moan and felt her smile against his skin as he heard the doors flew open suddenly. Startled, his eyes flew back open and he felt the top of Avery's head collide with his chin as she tried to rearrange herself. They let out simultaneous curses and hurriedly put a respectable distance between themselves as Thor strode toward the bed, at least having the grace to look mildly embarrassed.

"Forgive me," he said, a barely suppressed grin forming on his face.

"Your timing is, as always, impeccable," Loki snapped.

"I see your vitality has returned completely," Thor remarked, unable to keep from waggling his eyebrows slightly.

"Do you require something or are you simply here to regale us with your wit?" Loki demanded irritably.

"The Allfather requests your presence, if you are able to stand and join him in the throne room," Thor replied, "but even if you are not, you seem to be doing very well at activities that require no standing at all,"

"I will join you momentarily. Now, _out_," he ordered, giving Thor his deadliest glare.

"My apologies again for the interruption. Carry on," Thor told them, bowing slightly.

And then, chuckling quietly to himself, he left the room, leaving Loki flushed with anger and Avery flushed with utter mortification.

"Oh, god," she mumbled, burying her face in her hands.

"I have caught Thor in acts much worse than this, believe me. Perhaps I shall remind him of that in a time equally as inopportune as his entrance was just now," Loki said, mentally storing the idea away for future use.

"Please do, otherwise I don't know that I'll ever be able to look him in the eye again," Avery groaned.

They sat in silence while Loki attempted to calm himself and refrain from thinking about what might have happened if Thor hadn't decided to interlope.

"I suppose I must go," he said, not making an effort to get up.

"Guess so," she agreed somewhat regretfully.

"But I will return here as soon as I can," he continued.

"Okay. I'll see you in a bit, then," she smiled.

He pressed a chaste kiss to her lips and then swung his legs out of bed, wincing as the stab wound in his upper thigh flared with pain but gritted his teeth and stood despite the discomfort. Realizing he was still clad in only a green tunic and black breeches, he conjured his leather jerkin and boots, quickly putting them on and smoothing his hair back into place. Satisfied that he was suitably attired to make an appearance before the Allfather, he limped toward the door, pausing and turning back to glance at Avery. She whistled appreciatively and he rolled his eyes, trying not to smile. With one last look, he left the room and went to join Thor in the Rooms of Healing.

They traversed the halls in silence, Thor stunting his pace so that Loki could walk beside him. Thankfully, Thor refrained from any more remarks about the exchange he had witnessed several minutes previously, and by the time they reached the elaborate double doors, Loki's anger towards him had all but faded away. Thor gave his shoulder a brief, reassuring squeeze – a gesture he had always used just before the two of them were about to enter a battle –and they crossed the threshold of the room.

Crossing the floor seemed to take an eternity, dread filling Loki's heart as he contemplated the reason for the Allfather's summons. He knelt beside Thor at the foot of the dais, nearly stumbling as the stab wound began to throb from misuse. Drawing a deep breath to steady himself, he slowly looked up at the Allfather, silently imploring him to elucidate his request.

"You may rise," Odin told them.

Loki got to his feet stiffly, aided slightly by Thor.

"The rest of you may go. I must speak to my son alone." Odin continued, his gaze fixed on Loki.

The use of the word 'son' did not go unnoticed by a single person in the room, Loki least of all. Thor gave him a meaningful glance before nodding and retreating from the room, followed by a small reception of Asgardians who seemed rather reluctant to leave. The last to go was Frigga, who embraced him briefly, her eyes welling with tears of gladness at his recovery. He smiled at her in what he hoped was a reassuring way before she departed and he turned back to face the Allfather.

"I have been king for more years than I care to remember, Loki." He began, suddenly looking very weary. "And in my time as king I have done my best to govern this realm justly, as my forefathers did. Though I have done this to the best of my abilities, I know that I am not impervious to faults. And that a wise king is willing to admit when he has made a mistake."

Loki stayed silent, unsure of what to say to this.

"You must understand that I am not attempting to excuse my actions, but rather to explain them. Will you hear me out?" Odin asked.

Loki nodded shortly, willing him to go on.

"When I first found you in that temple, I knew immediately that you were special. It takes extraordinary, innate magic to be able to alter your form to mirror that of those surrounding you, Loki, magic that you possessed even as an infant. I took you from Jotunheim not only to protect you from Laufey, who I worried might have killed you for your small size but also to protect myself from you." Odin said, pausing briefly at the confused expression on Loki's face.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"If I hadn't taken you and Laufey had allowed you to live, I have no doubt that you would have grown into a formidable foe of Asgard. The heir of the throne of Jotunheim, possessed not only of the strength and the speed of the Frost Giants but also capable of altering your shape at will. I thought that by taking you and raising you as my own, I could prevent the chance that the Frost Giants might one day become powerful enough to face us once again.

"And this was my fatal mistake. Instead of revealing your true identity, I raised you to despise your own race so that, when the time came, I could install you upon the throne of Jotunheim and be sure that, under your rule, they would never become a threat to us again. Your contempt for them would have kept them docile, unlikely to ever threaten our borders again. But despite my best efforts to instill in you our Aesir ideals, you were still so unlike the rest of us.

"Thor was easy for me to understand because he was very much like I was at his age. Arrogant and overly passionate at times, yes, but simple and eager to please. But you I could not figure out, and it frightened me. I feared that, though I had done my best to turn you against your true nature, it would eventually consume you and you would betray us all. And instead of accepting you, different as you were from Thor, I began to show an obvious preference toward him, wrongly hoping that if you saw how I favored Thor, you would try to become more like him, an Aesir in all but blood. Instead all it did was teach you jealousy and spite that manifested itself in your constant trickery, which I now see was simply a way to gain my attention, even if it was only anger.

"And then after finally discovering your true heritage, you sought to prove yourself worthy of calling yourself my son. You followed in Thor's footsteps while I slept, attempting to annihilate your own race and show me that you were capable of upholding our values. But after witnessing Thor's recklessness and rage on the day of what was to be his coronation, I realized that perhaps the ideals I had been trying so long to instill in you were not what Asgard needed from its king. That perhaps we could have benefitted from your reasoning and reluctance to do battle unless it was absolutely necessary. By then it was too late. You had begun a quest and I was in no position to stop you.

"Eventually Thor, too, learned that he must amend his old ways and returned just in time to prevent you from destroying Jotunheim. And you could not understand his change of heart, could not understand why we were now trying to deter you from doing the very same things we had both already done. And when I looked down at you with what you saw as disapproval while you clung to Thor, it was not disappointment in you as a son. It was disappointment in myself for trying so hard to turn you into one of us when all this time, we should have been trying to become more like you." Odin finished quietly.

He stood and walked down the steps of the platform, coming to stand before Loki.

"I am so very sorry, Loki. I now see how wrong I was. It is my only hope that you will someday be able to forgive me for what I have done, as I have forgiven you." He said sadly.

"I forgive you."

The words slipped out of Loki's mouth before he had a chance to think about them. For a moment, he wished he could take them back, unsure of whether or not he truly meant them. But when he saw the look of relief and happiness on his adoptive father's face, he knew that he didn't regret saying them.

He knew that some of his hurt at being lied to for so long would never fully heal, but he was not going to deny himself the chance at having a family once again.

"Truly?" Odin asked, astonished.

"Truly," Loki confirmed, smiling slightly at how taken aback Odin was.

Without warning, Odin stepped forward and enveloped Loki in a massive embrace, effectively crushing the ribs that Loki had so recently repaired and forcing the air from his lungs. As if realizing this, he quickly pulled away, looking mildly self-conscious at the mawkish display, and instead clasped Loki's shoulder in a way reminiscent of Thor's earlier gesture.

"Thank you," he said gruffly, trying to balance out his earlier sentimentality by using a brusque tone.

"I owe my thanks to you as well. I do not believe I have had a chance to express my gratitude for you saving my life." Loki told him quietly.

Odin nodded, silently acknowledging this.

"You may go, if you wish." He said, smiling slightly, "I know you do not wish to keep Lady Avery waiting for long."

Loki blushed slightly, wondering is his thoughts were so transparent.

"Thank you," he replied, inclining his head and adding, "father."

The word felt unfamiliar on his lips, but not unpleasantly so. And he would come to reacquaint himself with it, in time. Odin looked similarly startled by it, but clapped Loki's shoulder reassuringly before letting his hand fall to his side, granting him leave to go.

With some difficulty, Loki turned and limped from the room, his heart feeling whole for the first time in what seemed like an eternity. He slowly made his way back to the Rooms of Healing, exhaustion beginning to overwhelm him as he depleted his last reserves of energy. When he reached his temporary quarters, he quickly rid himself of his boots and jerkin before staggering over to his bed, which was presently occupied by Avery.

He paused, appreciating the rare moment to observe her uninhibited. A few locks of dark hair partially obscured her face, fluttering slightly with each low breath. Her brow was slightly furrowed even in slumber and he wondered what troubled her. Carefully, he smoothed back her hair and watched the tension ease from her face as her blue eyes fluttered open.

"I'm sorry, I took over your bed," she mumbled, looking endearingly disoriented.

"Shh. You are weary and so am I. Go back to sleep," he told her gently, climbing in beside her and pressing a light kiss to her forehead.

She acquiesced, burying her face in his neck and letting out a contented sigh that tickled his skin. He glanced down at her, smiling slightly. When he awoke, she would still be wrapped in his arms.

And he could think of nothing that made him happier.


	20. Chapter Twenty

**A/N: **I really have to apologize for the extreme delay between the last chapter and this one. I started two new jobs and therefore have had a shortage of both time and energy with which to write. I did post a quick update but was very unhappy with it and deleted it two days afterwards because I felt that you all deserved a much better update than the one I posted. I hope you haven't all forgotten about me in my prolonged absence but I will continue writing this until the end anyways!

So, here we are! After this, there will only be two or three more chapters! I'm getting quite sad about this story coming to an end, but it also means I can begin work on the next one (it's currently a toss-up between a Cap/OC fic or possibly a Sherlock fic). Hope you enjoy this chapter and please leave a review if you have the time! Cheers!

Beyond Good and Evil: Chapter Twenty

A growing light awoke Avery from slumber, slowly weaving its way into her dreams and distorting them until her eyes could remain closed no longer and hesitantly opened. She felt the steady whisper of Loki's breath on the back of her neck and smiled, remembering where she was. Shifting carefully so as not to wake him, she turned so that they faced one another and stayed as still as she could so that he would not stir and disrupt her study of his features.

It was hard to remember that this was the same man she had first seen mere months ago, whose face had been a permanent mask of contempt for humanity and whose eyes held not a spark of happiness. Now, his expression was peaceful and content, one corner of his mouth turned up in the smallest of smiles. She felt a bit too much like a stalker for her own liking, watching him sleep like this, but she had to admit it was somewhat reassuring to see him in a vulnerable state from time to time when he was normally so sharp and collected.

Subconsciously, she raised a hand and ran it down the side of his face, giving an involuntary yelp as his eyes snapped open.

"Attempting to take advantage of me as I sleep?" Loki questioned, raising one perfectly defined brow.

"You wish," Avery huffed, sitting up and taking all of his blankets with her, annoyed at having been caught off guard by him yet again.

"Oh, so you're worried about my brother walking in at another inopportune moment?" he asked, amused.

She stared at him in surprise, taking in the ramifications of the word.

"You called Thor your brother," she said, as if to confirm it.

"I did. We have had our differences, yes, but I believe that we have overcome most of them. Knowing that I am not truly a son of Odin, I am not sure that I will ever feel the same kinship with him that Thor does. But now that I know why my father lied to me, why he favored Thor…I no longer carry the resentment I once did. My father admitted he was wrong and he asked me for my forgiveness, which I gave to him more freely than I thought myself possible of." He began thoughtfully, pausing for a moment before continuing,

"I may not be related to my family by blood, but I no longer feel like an outcast among them."

Avery sat back down beside him, smiling despite the slight ache in her heart. She was happy for him, truly, but a selfish part of her wondered why her own family couldn't have the same amount of closeness. And though she was glad that he would no longer be a pariah, her happiness was marred by the truth that she would always be an outcast, no matter what she did. He seemed to realize this inner turmoil, because his expression turned from cheerfulness to worry.

"Are you well?" Loki asked, his eyes filled with concern.

She nodded, her smile fading.

"Yeah. I'm happy for you," she said, hoping she didn't sound as unconvincing as she felt.

"Thank you." He murmured, not quite meeting her gaze.

There was a prolonged pause and then he cleared his throat and said, in an uncharacteristically nervous voice,

"This may seem forward of me but I would like to invite you to remain here, in Asgard. With me. For as long as you wish."

"What?" Avery blurted out, uncomprehendingly.

"I cannot return to Midgard with you. I must stay and fulfill my duties to this realm. But I do not want you to go, nor do I think you are eager to return." He continued.

"Well, no, I don't want to go either but can I really do that? Just pack up and move here? Is that okay with your family and everything?" she asked, disbelieving.

"We have more than enough room for you, as I am sure you can see," Loki told her, smiling slightly as he gestured around the spacious quarters, indicating the grandness of Asgard, "but it is not simply a question of my own selfish desires. Just before I lost consciousness, Thanos made a threat against your life. I do not know if it was solely meant to cause me distress or if he truly intends to carry it out, but I would rather not find out. And I believe you would be safest here."

"What does he want with me?" Avery asked, more puzzled than worried.

"He knows that you are close to me and he intends to take his revenge on me for failing to see his plans through by harming all those dear to me. And considering you are my-" he stopped abruptly, looking unsure of how exactly to describe their relationship.

"Girlfriend?" she suggested, rather unsure of the correct word herself.

"We do not use such a term here, but I suppose betrothed would be far too presumptuous," he said, growing increasingly flustered and attempting to disguise it by adding, "you are remarkably calm considering I have just told you that one of the most powerful beings in all the nine realms intends to kill you,"

"Yeah, well, I can't do much about that, can I? And besides, I feel pretty safe here. As long as I'm with you." Avery replied, shrugging.

"Then you will consent to leave your home in Midgard and join me here?" he asked.

"Of course. I mean, I don't want to sound like a downer, but I don't have that much to keep me there anyways. I don't have a job, I don't have a ton of friends, and Emma's pretty mad at me right now so I don't even know if she'll care that I'm leaving. And of course, my family doesn't give a damn, so I'm all for packing up and getting the hell out of there." She told him, the bitterness in her tone more evident than she would have liked it to be.

"Why is Emma angry with you?" Loki questioned, his brow furrowed in puzzlement.

"She doesn't really approve of, um, us. I guess she didn't have the best first impression of you and even though she's still my best friend and I don't want to be mean about her, she can be way too stubborn for her own good at times and this is definitely one of those instances. She refuses to accept that maybe you aren't as bad as you seemed to her and it caused some trouble between us." Avery told him, sighing regretfully as she absently twisted a section of their sheets between her fingers.

"I appreciate your defense of me, Avery, but I do not begrudge your friend for harboring concerns about my character. You must remember that she does not have the same level of familiarity with me that you do, and is naturally inclined to have doubts considering her experiences with me thus far. I am sure she is simply worried for you." He reasoned, causing her heart to give a guilty twinge as she realized he was right.

"I guess so. I don't really know how to fix things though. We've never had a fight like that one." She said unhappily.

"You could attempt to make amends with her when we return to Midgard to fetch your belongings. I will do my best to better her impression of me, and perhaps she will be less apprehensive about you coming to live here with me. And if she is not, then…we will deal with the matter in due time." Loki told her, before standing and stretching his arms over his head.

His tunic rose for a brief moment, allowing her a fleeting glimpse of pale, taut stomach and she made absolutely no attempt to avert her gaze.

"Now, for breakfast, because we have a full day ahead of us," he continued, surprisingly oblivious to her stare.

"Uh…yeah…wait, what?" Avery asked, shaking her head in a vain attempt to clear her mind of some incredibly distracting thoughts concerning him.

"I said, we should eat breakfast. We must return to Midgard so that you may collect your things and say your goodbyes, and I do not know how long it will take." He replied, then frowned. "Are you sure you are well? You're quite flushed," he remarked.

"I'm fine," she replied, blushing even harder under his gaze, "so we're going back to my apartment today?" she added, desperate to change the subject.

"If it is agreeable to you. It can wait, if you would like, but I daresay those you are close to in Midgard will have noticed your absence already, so I do not advise delaying our return much longer. And I am eager for you to get settled here, for I have much to show you in Asgard," he told her, the growing enthusiasm in his tone bringing a smile to her face.

"Okay," she said happily, too preoccupied with the idea of exploring Asgard with Loki to pay attention to much else.

"Now, Thor has insisted that we join him for the morning meal, so be prepared to endure the company of not only my brother but also his exasperating friends – once my friends as well but since they suspect me of treason, I suppose our friendship has been terminated," he sighed, sounding weary.

"Why are they so exasperating?" she asked.

"Allow me to give you a brief description of each of them so that you might come to understand just why they are so very insufferable. Firstly, there is Volstagg. What he lacks in wit or manners he compensates for in sheer girth, aided by his tendency to eat everything in sight. Secondly, Hogun. He isn't as bad as Volstagg, but I would not recommend attempting a conversation with him as he will simply stare at you or, if you're lucky, grant you a monosyllabic response to every question. Then there is Fandral, who is under the impression that the entire female populace is enamored of him but is seriously deluded by his perplexingly vanity, which is entirely undeserved. Lastly, we have the Lady Sif, who has been made bitter by her unrequited love for Thor and is probably not worth speaking to unless you would like to be on the receiving end of a deathly glare. And that about sums them up, I suppose." Loki told her, smirking wryly at her dismayed expression.

"Wow, I can't wait to meet them," she said dryly, raising her eyebrows at him.

"I promise that it will be a brief affair, but I am very aware of just how many terrible things can happen in a short span of time, so I cannot ensure that it will be a brief _and_ pleasant affair," he replied.

"Well, we can at least begin things in a pleasant way," she told him.

"By doing what?" he asked, puzzled.

"This," she said, leaning down to kiss him.

His lips brushed against hers lightly at first and she felt his hands trail down her sides slowly before coming to rest on her waist. Then as her fingers began to thread through his dark hair, pulling him closer, he deepened the kiss, causing her knees to weaken slightly. He gently pushed her back onto the bed so that she lay across it with him hovering over her, one arm supporting his weight as he trailed his lips down to her neck.

The brief moment of leverage she had gained over him vanished instantly, and she was momentarily ashamed of herself for allowing him to take control so quickly. But as he softly licked his way down to her collarbone, she realized she didn't mind at all. Then, just as she let out an involuntary sigh of pleasure at his ministrations, he abruptly pulled away and stood, looking flushed and disoriented. Feeling foolish, she sat up, looking at him with bemusement.

"Did I do something wrong?" Avery asked, filled with a maddening paranoia.

"On the contrary, you were doing everything right. Which is why we have to stop, otherwise I fear both the morning meal and our visit to Midgard will be entirely forgotten." Loki replied, hurriedly pulling on his jerkin and turning away from her.

"I don't really have any problems with that," she told him truthfully.

"Do not tempt me, Avery," he warned, placing one slender finger on her lips as if to silence her.

She brushed it away before his touch could further fluster her and mumbled, disappointedly,

"Okay, well, let's get breakfast over with."

"Very well," he told her, nodding curtly.

With that, he stood and exited the room, leaving her to hurry after him. They traversed the corridors in a near silence, punctuated only by the sound of their footfalls. Though it was a short walk to the main hall, where Loki and his family usually took their meals, it felt unbearably long. She was consumed by a maddening urge to touch him, even if it was just holding his hand, but was hesitant to appear needy and wasn't sure if he would condone displays of affection while in public. So instead she stifled her compulsions and prepared herself for what she was certain would be a disastrous breakfast.

Two guards pulled the doors open for them and Avery thanked them, frowning at their looks of confusion. Turning towards Loki, she was surprised to see that he was equally perplexed.

"What?" she asked defensively.

"You do not have to thank them, you know. They are simply carrying out their duties," Loki told her.

"It seems kind of rude not say thank you," she replied, slightly annoyed.

She had a tendency to forget that Loki was actually a prince of the realm and therefore possessed a certain amount of haughtiness when it came to those he considered beneath him. Although it was to be expected after being raised to think in such a manner, it made her uncomfortable, especially since she was as far from royalty as you could possibly get. However, his arrogance had the useful effect of making her less inclined to cling to him, and she was grateful for it. Though she would prefer that he do away with such hauteur, it was good to be reminded once in a while that, while she thought the world of him, he was not devoid of faults.

"Perhaps you are right," he said thoughtfully, "and showing them courtesy would certainly improve their view of me."

Avery opened her mouth, ready to encourage this idea, but was interrupted by Thor.

"Loki! Lady Avery! I see you have managed to leave your chambers long enough to join us!" he called jovially through a mouthful of food, causing Avery to flush darkly and Loki to let out an annoyed huff.

"Please, brother, I implore you to fill the remainder of your mouth with food so that we might be spared from your attempts at wit," Loki called back, striding towards the long table at which a small number of Asgardians sat and leaving Avery to jog after him in a useless attempt to match his pace.

"Charming as ever, Loki," said a tall, blond man sitting beside Thor.

"Fandral," Loki acknowledged, his tone respectful but free of all camaraderie.

"It's been a long time, my friend," Fandral said, slightly pompously, standing and clasping Loki by the shoulder in what Avery assumed was the Asgardian equivalent of a bro hug.

"Friends again, are we?" Loki asked lightly, raising one eyebrow.

"Yes, well, now that we have all been assured you are neither guilty of treason nor attempting to assume rule of Midgard, I believe it's safe to say our friendship can resume," Fandral replied with a shrug.

"Very well then. Friend. And as for the rest of you, what decision have you come to? Do you no longer trust me or may I greet you as friends once more?" Loki questioned, turning his gaze to the small assembly beside Thor.

"Sit down and eat, friend, but before you do, you must introduce us to your lovely companion!" said a large, red-haired man who was tackling an impressive plate of food.

"Ah, yes, of course. Volstagg, Fandral, Hogun, Lady Sif...I present to you Lady Avery of Midgard." Loki said proudly, bringing a pleased flush to her cheeks as she stepped forward and waved at all of them uncertainly, wondering what the appropriate action was.

Fandral saved her from a possible attempt at curtsying by swooping in and placing a lingering kiss on her hand, which earned him a glare from Loki.

"May I say, Lady Avery, that I have heard various descriptions of your beauty but that not a single one of them comes close to describing exactly how stunning you truly-" Fandral began, but was interrupted by Loki, who said,

"Save the flattery for your own reflection, Fandral, as we all know you favor it above any maiden, fair as she may be."

This was met with a round of laughter and Fandral sat back down, looking embarrassed.

"Um, anyways," Avery said, attempting to divert the attention from the shamefaced blond man with the ridiculous mustache, "I brought some coffee with me if anyone would like some,"

And upon seeing the look on Thor's face, she had to conclude that she had never seen anyone look so delighted.


	21. Chapter Twenty One

**A/N: **hey everyone, so sorry this chapter took me forever to post! Work has been absolutely hellish, to say the least, and as a result I have been rather unmotivated to write. But I promise that I will make sure to get the next chapter out much quicker than this one, as it will be the final update to this story before the Captain America/OC story begins. Also, I promise you it will be double the length of this one (and we'll finally get to the M-rated section) but first I wanted to post this!

Thank you so much for reading and reviewing and I hope you enjoy this chapter! And please remember to leave a review if you have the time, because they encourage me to write (and also put a smile on my face despite the past few weeks being kind of miserable). Cheers!

Beyond Good and Evil: Chapter Twenty One

Much to Loki's dismay, he and Avery were unable to slip away from the breakfast table until sometime after Thor, Lady Sif, and the Warriors Three had all imbibed copious amounts of coffee and were in fits of maniacal laughter due to the effects of caffeine.

"Though I admire your generosity, I must say I am not sure that introducing the Asgardians to the wonders of coffee was your finest idea," Loki murmured as they surreptitiously made their ways to the doors of the hall.

"I realized that a bit too late, I'm afraid," Avery muttered back, grinning slightly guiltily.

"Fortunately, we have an extremely limited supply, so hopefully _this-_" he began, pausing and gesturing towards the table, "will not last for long."

"Well, we'll be gone for the day so hopefully they will have calmed down a bit by the time we get back," she said, adding, "thanks!" in an undertone as they passed the two guards holding the doors open.

"Thank you," Loki told them quietly, remembering her earlier words.

Both guards looked at him in surprise before nodding in acknowledgment, appreciation at the recognition plainly displayed on their features. Loki had to admit that it was gratifying to bring about such happiness with two simple words, but that was nothing compared to how he felt upon seeing the expression on Avery's face.

"You're really great, you know," she told him as they walked down the expansive hall, pride evident in her voice.

"You're not so terrible yourself," he replied, one corner of his mouth turning up at the indignant look she gave him.

She aimed a half-hearted kick at his legs, which he easily sidestepped before pulling her to him.

"On the contrary, you're rather wonderful." Loki continued, before pressing a quick kiss to her lips and releasing her. "Does that mollify you?"

"Yeah, I guess," Avery answered, smiling as they continued down the hall.

Suddenly realizing that walking was unnecessary, Loki grabbed her hand and transported them both to the end of the rainbow bridge, leaving her shaking slightly with shock.

"You could have warned me before you did that!" she said, looking pale despite the golden light that enveloped them.

"My apologies. Would you have preferred walking this whole way?" he asked, raising a brow.

"Not really. Not when we can Apparate," she replied, the color rushing back into her cheeks.

"I suppose it is rather like Apparating, although with me there is no chance of leaving behind any limbs," he said.

_Only the slight chance that you might be abducted by Thanos, _said a small voice in the back of his mind. He pushed it aside, choosing to instead focus on her happy expression.

"You got the reference!" she exclaimed.

"Well, those books seemed very important to you, I thought it prudent to pay attention," he reasoned.

"Yeah, when you weren't staring at me," she said slyly.

A slight flush crept up on his cheeks.

"I did nothing of the sort," he lied, provoking a skeptical expression from her.

His gaze wandered to the sentinel standing at the very end of the bridge, silent and watchful as ever.

"Greetings, Heimdall," Loki called.

"Hi," Avery added, waving.

There was no response, though Heimdall did give a slight nod to let them know he had heard.

"He's not very talkative," Loki explained, summoning the casket and offering her one end of it. "Ready?" he asked.

Nodding, she took hold of the object and he turned it, closing his eyes against the brightness of the light that engulfed them. When he opened them, they were standing in her kitchen, both looking slightly windswept.

"Okay, so…how should we do this? Should I pack everything into boxes or bags or something and then we'll just carry them back with us?" Avery asked, looking around uncertainly.

"Just make a pile of the items you would like to bring with you to Asgard and I will transport them for you. However, I cannot promise complete accuracy with where I send them, so if something is particularly dear to you, I would recommend carrying it with you on our journey back." Loki replied.

"Right, so, this is staying with me," she said, putting a hand on her coffeemaker.

He smiled.

"A wise choice," he remarked.

"Also I used up the rest of my coffee this morning so we should probably go and shop for some more," she said.

"Very well. Perhaps we should go now, before you become too absorbed in packing," Loki told her.

"Oh, you actually want to go grocery shopping this time?" she asked, surprised.

"I could be persuaded to join you if truffles will be included," he replied.

"Okay then. Let's go," she said, grinning as she grabbed her purse from the countertop and made for the door.

Loki vanished the casket before following her. They descended the many flights of stairs leading to the entrance and exited her apartment building, the harsh sunlight causing both of them to blink for several moments as they adjusted to it. When they could see clearly, they continued down the street to the grocery store, which was teeming with harried customers.

"Are you sure you want to go in there again?" Avery asked, looking at him.

Loki attempted to prevent an exasperated sigh and failed dismally, wrenching the door open and holding it for her.

"Avery, I have fought battles in half of the nine realms, I hardly think that a foray into a Midgardian market will be the death of me-" he began, but was cut off abruptly as the edge of a silver cart grazed his side, causing him to let out an involuntary gasp of surprise.

"Hey, watch where you're going!" called the man pushing the cart angrily, as if he had been wronged instead of the other way around.

Loki opened his mouth to retort but was precluded by Avery, who snapped,

"Or how about you apologize to my boyfriend, who you just hit with your cart?"

"Or how about you and your _boyfriend _stop standing in the doorway and mind your own business?" the man sneered.

Avery's cheeks were flushed with anger as she once again started to reply, but Loki placed a hand on her wrist, giving an almost imperceptible shake of his head.

"Allow me to handle this," he whispered, flicking his wrist and causing the man's poorly fitting shorts to unravel at the seams, leaving him standing in a pair of hideous undershorts patterned with hearts and illustrations of Cupid.

The man swore loudly and made an attempt to cover himself, but to no avail, as his exclamations had already called the attentions of other customers, who rather unsuccessfully attempted to disguise their laughter.

"Pathetic mortal," Loki scoffed quietly, delighting in the embarrassment of the man as he attempted to hold together his shorts and wheel his cart at the same time.

"You're terrible," Avery murmured, trying to suppress her grin.

"Am I? It was not I who was on the verge of engaging him in a shouting match," he replied, raising an eyebrow at her.

"Defending you, you mean," she corrected.

"What makes you think I need defending?" he questioned, amused by the idea.

"Well, that's what you do for people you love, isn't it? You stick up for them," she told him nonchalantly, drifting toward the aisle that contained coffee.

He stared after her, taken aback.

"I suppose so," he agreed, so quietly that she didn't hear him.

However, she was so engrossed in choosing a variety of coffee that he doubted she would have heard even if he had spoken up.

"What looks good to you?" Avery asked, biting her lip thoughtfully as she gazed at the rows in front of them.

"I think we should approach this logically and purchase one of each," Loki replied, beginning to put various bags in their shopping basket.

"Loki, there's nearly fifty types!" Avery yelped, grabbing his hand to prevent him from adding anything else.

"Thirty, once we exclude the decaiffenated varieties, which are for cowards," he corrected.

"Well, still, I don't have money for all of that!" she said indignantly.

"Yes, you do. You won't have need for money in Asgard, and you do not have any debts to pay here, so why not spend it now?" he asked.

"Well, when you look at it like that," she shrugged, hurrying to the front and grabbing two more baskets to help him carry their selections.

"Truffles as well," he reminded her, as they finished choosing coffees.

"Why don't you go and grab those and I'll wait in line?" she suggested.

"Would you like any blue raspberry-flavored foods to go along with all of this?" he asked, straight-faced.

"Oh, shut up," she laughed, turning to get a place in line.

Finding that he could not erase his smile, he allowed it to remain as he selected several bags of truffles and went back to join her. They paid for the obscene amount of coffee and left the store laden with bags. As they approached Avery's apartment, her walk slowed to a near standstill as she eyed the figure waiting outside. Loki looked at her curiously, silently prompting an answer that she unconsciously provided when she said,

"Emma?"

The girl turned, surprised.

"Avery! I called you but you didn't pick up so I thought I'd try coming to see you in person…" she began, trailing off as she caught sight of Loki.

He nodded, acknowledging her, and her eyes narrowed slightly, mouth twisting with disapproval.

"What are you doing here?" Avery asked, oblivious to their wordless exchange.

"I came to make things right. I didn't feel good about the way things were – well, are – between us, and I wanted to…apologize." Emma told her, still eyeing Loki distrustfully.

"Oh! Um, Emma, this is my, uh, boyfriend? This is Loki," Avery said, uncertainly, gesturing towards him, "and Loki, this is my best friend, Emma,"

"Emma. It's an honor to meet you, I have heard much about you from Avery," Loki told her graciously, inclining his head slightly in a semblance of a bow.

He did not like playing the unctuous significant other, but if it was necessary to win over Avery's friend and ensure that he and Avery could return to Asgard sooner, it was worth it.

Although he still wasn't sure he liked her use of the word 'boyfriend;' it made him feel like a gawky teenager still chasing after the skirts of the girls he favored.

"Oh, um, thanks? It's nice to meet you, too, I guess," Emma said, looking slightly mollified.

"I understand your uncertainty; last time we met, I did command you both to kneel before me as I attempted to subjugate your planet. My apologies. I can assure you I no longer wish to do so," he told her as regretfully as he could manage.

"That didn't make the greatest first impression," Emma admitted, "but…I've been thinking and I trust Avery more than anyone. If she trusts you, than so do I."

Loki opened his mouth to thank her for this gracious testimony, but was interrupted as she said,

"But if you hurt her, I'll kick your ass,"

He clamped his lips together, fighting back a snide remark about where she had gotten the idea that she would stand a chance against a God learned in the arts of sorcery and simply replied,

"I will not forget it, but I promise you that I will treat Avery like royalty."

If Avery noticed the implications of his words, she did not let on, and simply smiled at the pair of them.

"Well, this is nice! My two favorite people, getting along. Hey Emma, want to join us for a cup of coffee so I can tell you my big news?" she asked.

"Sure," Emma shrugged, smiling as well.

_Women. _They could hate each other one moment and then be best friends again the next. It was exhausting to try to keep up with, so Loki decided to just go along with it and follow them up to Avery's apartment.

Along with three bags of coffee and truffles.


	22. Chapter Twenty Two

**A/N: **first off, my deepest apologies to everyone I have kept waiting while I neglected this story. I can assure you it was not my intention to leave such a long interval between updates but life happens. Anyways, thank you all for sticking with me and thank you especially to the readers that left me kind messages on tumblr urging me to continue – your encouragement was much needed and very appreciated.

So, I decided to do one more chapter after this one because I don't like splitting perspectives in one chapter and the last one will be from Avery's point of view. But I hope you guys like this one! There's a lot of fluff…and more to come next chapter, which I will hopefully write much quicker than this one! I have the whole weekend off and I plan to spend it working on this story and probably sleeping c:

Cheers!

Beyond Good and Evil: Chapter Twenty-Two

It took several minutes for Loki to send Avery's myriad possessions back to Asgard, which he did while she said her farewells to Emma. He hoped that he had been fairly accurate in where the objects had ended up but predicted that at least a couple things would have to be searched for in the coming days. Upon his suggestion, she had put one bag aside that contained her most valued belongings – including both her electric coffeemaker and a non-electric French press, their best coffee bean selections, and some clothes – and after Emma had departed, she slung it over her shoulder and prepared to leave.

"Well, I guess that's everything," Avery said, sounding slightly uncertain.

"Shall we go then?" Loki asked, eager to return.

"Yeah, I guess so," she replied, though her expression grew more doubtful by the second.

"You do not look at all sure," he remarked, doing his best to sound calmer than he felt.

"It's just…I'm about to leave behind the only life I've ever known. To live somewhere I thought was made up. It's a little weird," she admitted, giving him a lopsided smile that did little to conceal her nervousness.

He took a step toward her and brushed a lock of unruly hair behind her ear, resting his forehead against hers in an effort to reassure her.

"If ever…" he began, searching for the right words before continuing, "if ever you wish to return, know that I would bring you back to your home here without hesitation, if that is what you desired. But I want you to also know that though you are free to come and go as you like, you will forever have a home in Asgard."

There was a long pause and he frowned, pulling away slightly to look down at her. He was rather startled to find that she was silently crying, an unreadable expression on her face.

"Avery…?" he asked, at a loss for what to do.

Suddenly, she leaned up and pressed her mouth to his, winding her fingers through his hair and pulling him in closer. He could taste salt and chocolate on her lips and suddenly all thoughts of hurrying back to Asgard had gone from his mind as he wrapped his arms around her waist and gave in completely to her. She gently broke off the kiss and gazed into his eyes, looking slightly shy.

"I confess, I find myself rather confused by you. I tell you something that I thought would gladden your heart and it instead brings you to tears. When I wish to see you smile should I instead insult you? I beg of you, enlighten me," he said, only partially in jest.

She laughed and placed a small kiss on his cheek before shaking her head.

"I was crying from happiness, silly. But I'll try not to in the future if it confuses you so much," she told him.

"Thank you," he murmured, the side of his mouth curving up in a small smile.

"Just really quick, I want you to know something, too. I…I don't care if I'm here or in Asgard or in any other realm…as long as I'm with you, I'm home. It's not a place for me anymore. It just means you." She whispered.

Unable to say anything, he simply kissed her once more. His heart felt warm in a way he was still unused too and he wondered if she felt the same. Drawing a shaky breath, he reached down and took her hand, interlacing their fingers and gazed at her steadily.

"Ready?" he asked softly.

She nodded, and this time she looked as though she couldn't be more certain.

The moment they had returned to the rainbow bridge, Loki and Avery were met by Thor, who informed them with no small amount of enthusiasm – perhaps due to the copious amount of caffeine he had imbibed earlier – that there was to be a feast in honor of Loki's return later that evening and that Frigga requested Avery's presence as soon as was convenient.

"Me?" Avery asked, looking slightly worried.

"Yes, I believe she wants to clothe you in the Asgardian fashion and regale you with tales of Loki's childhood," Thor said, grinning.

Loki let out a slight groan, giving Avery a sympathetic glance.

"My apologies," he said dryly.

She grinned back at him, giving his hand a small squeeze.

"No, it's okay. I like your mom! She's very sweet." She replied.

At this, both Loki and Thor let out a cacophony of disbelieving coughs and – in Thor's rather undignified case – several snorts of mirth.

"You would not think so had you seen her after Loki transformed her favorite gown into a salmon," Thor laughed.

"Loki! Why on Earth would you turn your mom's dress into a fish?" Avery exclaimed, sounding torn between exasperation and amusement.

"I was trying to repair the damage caused by this oaf spilling an entire goblet of mead on it!" Loki burst out, glaring at Thor.

"Gosh, I hope that didn't happen while she was wearing the dress," Avery said, raising her eyebrows.

"No, it happened while Thor was trying it on, he was attempting to disguise himself as a woman and I fear he did very badly-" Loki began, a smirk forming at the corner of his lips.

"Wait, _WHAT_?" Avery yelped, turning to look at Thor in amazement.

"It wasn't what it sounds like!" Thor said, flushing slightly, "it was a necessary ruse in order to defeat a giant!"

"There were much simpler ways to go about doing so, but I neglected to mention them. After all, my dear brother did put so much effort into making himself look pretty," Loki snickered.

"Someone _please _tell me this story in full because I'm dying here," Avery said, looking beseechingly at Loki.

"Perhaps tonight at the feast when we have more of an audience," Loki told her.

"Brother, please," Thor implored, shaking his head.

"What, you're embarrassed for everyone to hear how the mighty Thor put on his mother's gown and then spilled mead on it while attempting to curl his hair? These are, of course, perfectly normal battle preparations," Loki said, while Avery vainly tried to conceal her laughter beside him.

Thor looked practically mortified but shot Loki a glare, determined to regain some of his pride.

"In case you have forgotten, brother, the story ends with me defeating the giant. No thanks to you." He grumbled.

"Well, facing that giant was really nothing in comparison to facing mother when we returned," Loki mused, then caught sight of the nervous look on Avery's face, "but fear not. She adores you and you have not turned any of her gowns to fish, so I daresay you are safe from her wrath."

"Hmm, thanks for the reassurance," Avery muttered, looking none too mollified.

"I will take you to her chambers and then I have some matters I must attend to. But I will see you later this evening for the feast," he promised her, raising her hand to his mouth and pressing a kiss to her knuckles. "I would speak with you when I return, brother," he added to Thor.

Thor nodded, a slightly wistful smile on his face as he watched the exchange between Loki and Avery. Loki realized that his brother was still pining for the woman he had met in Midgard, and felt suddenly guilty for the affection he and Avery displayed. He made a mental promise to look into the possibility of arranging a meeting between the woman – Loki did not know her name but would also ask Thor about it later – and his brother as soon as possible. Such sadness didn't belong in his brother's kind blue eyes.

He and Avery departed and reappeared in front of his mother and father's chambers. The doors were shut, and they had landed quietly enough that Loki felt they could chance a kiss or two before their presence was made known. He leaned down and captured her mouth with his, running his hands down her sides and letting them rest on her hips as he pulled her in just a bit closer. She hummed contentedly, seeming to forget where they were, and threaded her fingers through his hair in a way that she knew made him shiver ever so slightly. He made to pull away, realizing that with every moment he spent kissing her he grew more tempted to take them to his quarters instead and forgo the feast entirely. However, his attempt to break away was thwarted by her slowly taking his lower lip into her mouth and gently sucking on it before biting down in a way that made him gasp slightly. This seemed to startle her and she disentangled herself from him, looking rather disappointed about it all the same.

"It probably wouldn't endear your mom to me if she saw me corrupting you in full view of whoever happened to walk by," Avery said, sounding somewhat flustered.

His lips curved up into a smile.

"What makes you think you're the one doing the corrupting?" he asked in a low voice, fixing her with a steady gaze.

"I'd say we're both guilty of it. I've corrupted you by giving you coffee truffles and pasta and Harry Potter books and you've corrupted me by…" she trailed off, looking unsure of how to finish the sentence.

"I must have corrupted you in some way," he urged, curious to hear what it was.

"Well if you must know," she began, her cheeks going very pink, "I would certainly say you've corrupted me by making me think about things that are going to make it really difficult to behave like a normal human being all evening because I'm going to be entirely distracted by thinking about you and that's really bad because I'm about to go play dress up with your mom!" she finished, sounding embarrassed and slightly indignant but holding his gaze.

"Is that so?" he murmured, unable to stop a pleased grin from spreading over his face.

"Yes, you jerk," she grumbled, "stop looking so pleased about it. It's not a good thing."

"Oh, but it is. Because after this infernal feast is over, we are retiring to my quarters and I will-" he murmured but was unfortunately interrupted by the doors swinging open and his mother hurrying out, an excited smile on her face.

"Loki! Avery! You have returned! Did all go well?" she asked, her gaze flitting between them.

"Yes, I believe so. Although some of Avery's possessions may be scattered throughout the city, I am not sure how accurate I was in transporting all of them," Loki admitted.

"You neglected to mention that," Avery grumbled next to him, though she did not sound very mad and he guessed that her mind was still preoccupied with the sentence he had been unable to finish.

"I took the liberty of having some gowns brought in for you to choose from. I had to guess your measurements, but if anything doesn't fit, my seamstress can mend it in a heartbeat. Of course, you are more than welcome to wear Midgardian garb to the feast, but I thought you might like to see the gowns before you decide," Frigga said hopefully.

"I would love to see them. All of your clothes are much more beautiful than the ones I brought from home. I'd be honored to wear something made in Asgard at the feast tonight," Avery smiled, and Loki sent her a grateful glance, happy to see the overjoyed expression on his mother's face.

"I'll see you later, then?" she added to Loki, looking back at him as Frigga ushered her inside.

"Yes. And careful not to turn any gowns to salmon," Loki said seriously, then laughing as he caught sight of his mother's expression.

And before she could say anything, he transported back to where his brother stood, watching as gentle waves broke the surface of the dark ocean beneath the rainbow bridge.

"You miss her, do you not?" Loki asked quietly.

"Very much," Thor murmured, unusually solemn.

"Would you tell me about her?" Loki questioned, somewhat cautiously.

Thor looked at him in surprise but nodded, closing his eyes for a moment before he spoke.

"Her name is Jane. She is a scholar, a watcher of the stars. Her face is the kindest that I have ever seen and her smile more beautiful than an Asgardian sunrise. I was in her company for but a few days yet I feel like I have known her my entire life. Or rather, like I have been waiting for her my entire life and now that I have found her, she is all that I think of."

Loki could not remember ever hearing his brother's voice sound so sincere or so sad. Not knowing what else to do, he reached up and clasped Thor's shoulder. They stood in silence for a moment, watching the water.

"You will see her again." He said, and it was a promise.

Thor gave him a small smile but said nothing in return.

"Shall we return? The feast will be starting soon, and I for one would hate to miss watching Volstagg's desperate attempts to steal food from the tables before it begins," Loki said, trying to lighten Thor's mood.

"Let us make haste then, for I am eager to see what he will think of his time," Thor replied, with a trace of his usual grin.

And with that, the two brothers turned and began to make their way back home.


End file.
